Pee curl

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Single pee curl at Singel Krul Public toilet singel krul.JPG
Single pee curl at Singel
The design of a pee curl Ontwerp van een ijzeren urinoir boven bestaande riolen.jpg
The design of a pee curl
A photo of one of the Pissoirs installed in 1800s Paris, taken by Charles Marville around 1865 Charles Marville, Urinoir a 1 stalle fonte et maconnerie, Faubourg Saint-Martin, ca. 1865.jpg
A photo of one of the Pissoirs installed in 1800s Paris, taken by Charles Marville around 1865
An example of one of the latter designs of the French pissoirs, photographed by Charles Marville around 1875 Charles Marville, Urinoir en fonte a 2 stalles avec ecran, Chaussee de la Muette, ca. 1865.jpg
An example of one of the latter designs of the French pissoirs, photographed by Charles Marville around 1875
A double pee curl at the Paleis voor Volksvlijt, where they were first placed Zicht op het voormalig Paleis voor Volksvlijt - Amsterdam - 20015376 - RCE detail plaskrul.jpg
A double pee curl at the Paleis voor Volksvlijt, where they were first placed

The pee curl (Dutch: plaskrul) is a public urinal, many of which are found in the centre of Amsterdam. They originated at the end of the 19th century, and were first installed by the Public Works Department of Amsterdam.

Contents

The curl is made of a spiral-shaped steel sheet suspended half a metre above the ground by four iron legs, and painted dark green. The top half of the plate is perforated so that any passers-by can determine at eye-level whether it is vacant or in use. The floor is made of tiles with a natural stone slab making up the urinal itself, housing the central drain. The curls are connected to the sewer by this drain and are cleaned by the local municipality with water from the canal. The curls come in either a single or double version, with some coming equipped with roofs. [1]

History

By the 1800s, public sanitation in Paris was in a poor condition, with the city having a major problem with public urination. The population was also rapidly increasing with an expectation for it to pass a million by 1840. [2]

In the spring of 1830, the city government of Paris decided to install the first public urinals on the major boulevards, with them being ready for the summer. In July that same year however, many were destroyed and used as street barricades during the French Revolution of 1830. [3]

In 1832, a cholera epidemic spread from Britain to Paris, killing 18,500 people (or roughly 2% of the city's population at the time) in 169 days. Among the dead was the French Prime Minister Casimir Pierre Périer. The epidemic also brought Paris' economy to a standstill, with those who could flee doing so and anyone who stayed adopting futile measures to protect themselves from it. [2] [4]

In 1839 the Préfet de la Seine, Claude-Philibert de Rambuteau, began installing over 400 pissoirs in an effort to fix the sanitation issues in Paris while also working to improve the water supply to the city, to enlarge the Paris sewer system and to install gas lighting in the city. The pissoirs that were installed at the time were simple, single-person masonry tubes with an entrance cut into the street side and a cornice and ball above. Despite these efforts, public urination continued to be an issue, with Parisians still relieving themselves "en plein air" according to an April 1843 column in the Gazette Municipale . [3] [5]

In 1859, 20 years after the introduction of the pissoirs, Dutch inventor Leijs proposed the placement of similar hollow pillars to try and solve Amsterdam's issues with public sanitation, however, the design of the pee curl was chosen. In the 19th and through the majority of the 20th century, facilities like the Dutch pee curls and French pissoirs were sometimes used by homosexual men to have sex. The anxiety of the public and the government regarding homosexuality thus influenced the design of the pee curl and later designs of the pissoir, with clear visibility into them. [2] [5]

The first of the pee curls were not installed until 1870, with 1877 bringing the first double pee curl [6] – an S-shaped curl with opposing chambers – to the Paleis voor Volksvlijt. An updated design of the pee curl was later created in 1916 by architect Joan van der Mey.

20th century and women's rights

In 1969, [7] a Dutch Feminist group called Dolle Mina was founded to campaign for equal rights for women, including public "pee-right". [8] The group mainly fought to improve said rights by using protests in a playful and humorous manner. [9] One of these protests occurred in Amsterdam's Dam Square in April 1970, installing a "towering papier-mâché penis with a sign that read 'damestoilet' (ladies' room)." The structure was placed there to address the lack of public toilets for women in Amsterdam. [10] That same year, several public toilets were wrapped with pink ribbons to protest this imbalance. [11]

In 1985, Sanisettes were installed in Amsterdam, however they were deemed to be too expensive and were removed some years later. [8]

Plasrecht

Geerte Piening on a DWDD interview

In 2015, Geerte Piening was fined €90 for public urination when she relieved herself in an alleyway in Amsterdam due to the fact that the nearest public toilet that was designed for use by women was several kilometres away. She refused to pay the fine on the grounds that she felt that the design of public toilets in Amsterdam discriminated against women, and she was unable to go to a bar to pay to go to relieve herself as it was beyond closing time. [12]

The male judge in the case, however, held that "it would not be pleasant but it can be done", regarding the use of urinals and pee curls. Piening was forced to pay the fine. [12] This led to widespread mockery by the public and even led some women to demonstrate the "obvious difficulties" of using male urinals. [13]

This event also led to a call being put out on Facebook by Cathelijne Hornstra for people to gather and protest at the spot where Geerte was found by police. The protest was cancelled because of the overwhelming interest, with the organisers asking those interested (said to be nearly 10,000 women) to gather at urinals across Amsterdam. Attendees were asked to upload photos on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag "#wildplassen", the Dutch word for the crime of public urination. [14]

21st century use

In 2008, all remaining examples of the original pee curls were repainted, galvanised, and restored. [2] [15] The city had thirty-five of the original pee curls as of 2017. [16]

In 2016, it was announced that new retractable urinals for women would be placed in Dam Square, Amsterdam. The urinals were equipped with two urinals for men and a toilet for women, which has a lockable sliding door. [17]

The pee curls to the side of the canals are kept in place by the local government to keep people from publicly urinating and thereby falling in the canal, in an attempt to cut down on the number of people falling into the canal; an average of 15 people drown each year in the canals for multiple reasons, including public urination. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urination</span> Release of urine from the urinary bladder

Urination is the release of urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Urine is released through the urethra and exits the penis or vulva through the urinary meatus in placental mammals, but is released through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, or, rarely, emiction, and known colloquially by various names including peeing, weeing, pissing, and euphemistically number one. The process of urination is under voluntary control in healthy humans and other animals, but may occur as a reflex in infants, some elderly individuals, and those with neurological injury. It is normal for adult humans to urinate up to seven times during the day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipalities of the Netherlands</span> Second-level administrative divisions of the Netherlands

Since 1 January 2023, there have been 342 regular municipalities and three special municipalities in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies, in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urinal</span> Sanitary fixture for urination

A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture similar to a toilet, but for urination only. Urinals are often provided in men's public restrooms in Western countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be equipped with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures, or in a trough design without privacy walls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public toilet</span> Room or building with toilets for the general public

A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or prisoners. Public toilets are typically found in many different places: inner-city locations, offices, factories, schools, universities and other places of work and study. Similarly, museums, cinemas, bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues usually provide public toilets. Railway stations, filling stations, and long distance public transport vehicles such as trains, ferries, and planes usually provide toilets for general use. Portable toilets are often available at large outdoor events.

A pay toilet is a public toilet that requires the user to pay. It may be street furniture or be inside a building, e.g. a shopping mall, department store, or railway station. The reason for charging money is usually for the maintenance of the equipment. Paying to use a toilet can be traced back almost 2000 years, to the first century BCE. The charge is often collected by an attendant or by inserting coins into an automatic turnstile; in some freestanding toilets in the street, the fee is inserted into a slot by the door. Mechanical coin operated locks are also used. Some more high tech toilets accept card or contactless payments. Sometimes, a token can be used to enter a pay toilet without paying the charge. Some municipalities offer these tokens to residents with disabilities so these groups aren't discriminated against by the pay toilet. Some establishments such as cafés and restaurants offer tokens to their customers so they can use the toilets for free but other users must pay the relevant charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanisette</span> Self-cleaning public toilet

Sanisette is a registered trademark for a self-contained, self-cleaning, unisex, public toilet pioneered by the French company JCDecaux. These toilets are a common sight in several major cities of the world, but they are perhaps most closely associated with the city of Paris, where they are ubiquitous. In the United Kingdom, they are known informally as "Superloos".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potty parity</span> Equitable provision of public toilets or men and women

Potty parity is equal or equitable provision of public toilet facilities for females and males within a public space. Parity can be defined by equal floorspace or by number of fixtures within the washrooms, sometimes adjusted for the longer average time taken and more frequent visits to the washroom for females, among other factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unisex public toilet</span> Public toilets that are not separated by sex

Unisex public toilets are public toilets that are not separated by sex or gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female urination device</span> Device which aids a person with a vagina to urinate while standing upright

A female urination device (FUD), personal urination device (PUD), female urination aid, or stand-to-pee device (STP) is a device that can be used to more precisely aim the stream of urine while urinating standing upright. Variations range from basic disposable funnels to more elaborate reusable designs. Personal urination devices have increased in popularity since the 1990s. They are used for outdoor occupations & recreation, gender affirmation/safety, and medical reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female urinal</span> Urinal designed to be used by women and girls

A female urinal is a urinal designed for the female anatomy to allow for ease of use by women and girls. Different models enable urination in standing, semi-squatting, or squatting postures, but usually without direct bodily contact with the toilet. Sitting models also exist, and are designed for body contact with the urinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toilet</span> Piece of hardware for the collection or disposal of human excreta

A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popular in Europe and North America with a toilet seat, with additional considerations for those with disabilities, or for a squatting posture more popular in Asia, known as a squat toilet. In urban areas, flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system; in isolated areas, to a septic tank. The waste is known as blackwater and the combined effluent, including other sources, is sewage. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device, including urine diversion with a urine-diverting toilet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interactive urinal</span> Urinal with an interactive feature that can be controlled during use

An interactive urinal is a device that allows users to play video games or control interactive displays while urinating. Several designs have been produced to date, usually comprising a urinal fitted with a pressure sensor to measure the strength and position of the urine flow and an LCD screen mounted above the urinal to provide animated graphics.

Dolle Mina was a Dutch feminist group founded in December 1969 that campaigned for equal rights for women. It was named after an early Dutch feminist, Wilhelmina Drucker. It was a left-wing radical feminist activist group that aimed to improve women's rights through playful and humorous protest demonstrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pissoir</span> Structure that provides screening of urinals

A pissoir is a French invention, common in Europe, that provides a urinal in public space with a lightweight structure. The availability of pissoirs aims to reduce urination onto buildings, sidewalks, or streets. They can be freestanding and without screening, with partial screening, or fully enclosed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollee</span> Portable female urinal company

Pollee is a mobile female urinal, designed by Nuala Collins, Christian Pagh and Sara Nanna and produced by the Danish design bureau UIWE. It is specifically designed to be used at public events such as concerts or music festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Men's Toilet, Russell Street, Toowoomba</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Men's Toilet is a heritage-listed public toilet at Russell Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1919. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 June 1994.

Mumtaz Shaikh is a women's rights activist from India who launched a successful campaign for equal access to public toilets in Mumbai. She was selected by the BBC in 2015 as one of its inspirational 100 Women campaign.

madamePee Mobile female urinal

madamePee is a mobile female urinal, without contact and without water supply. It is designed to be used at public events such as concerts or music festivals, but also in more durable situations such as construction sites, public gardens, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urine deflector</span> Sanitary device

A urine deflector is a device for deflecting the stream of urine during urination. These may be part of a chamber pot, latrine or toilet intended for the purpose, or they may be deterrents, installed in the sides or corners of buildings to discourage their casual use as urinals by passers-by. They may be constructed in various ways from a variety of materials but are typically designed to have an angled surface which catches and redirects the stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telescopic toilet</span> Type of toilet

A telescopic toilet, retractable toilet, or pop-up toilet, is a type of toilet which is stored underground and then raised above ground when in use.

References

  1. ↑ iBecomingDutch (2020-08-30). "KRUL". I Becoming Dutch. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Pissoirs — Public Urinals with Little to No Privacy". Toilets of the World. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  3. 1 2 "Pissoir", Wikipedia, 2023-06-13, retrieved 2023-08-28
  4. ↑ "Pandemic Lessons From the Era of 'Les Miserables'". Bloomberg.com. 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  5. 1 2 blindfieldcollective (2017-04-20). "Patenting The Pissoir: Queer Bodies and Proprietary Technologies" . Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  6. ↑ "Pissoirs — Public Urinals with Little to No Privacy". Toilets of the World. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  7. ↑ Kaplan, Gisela (2012). Contemporary Western European Feminism (RLE Feminist Theory). Routledge. p. 152. ISBN   9780415636810.
  8. 1 2 Donia Nota, Justine (7 July 2021). "(REST)ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT" (PDF). Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Dolle Mina ('Mad Mina') | Feminism in the 20th century". Atria. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  10. ↑ "The Protestor's Playground | History Today" . www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  11. ↑ "Sandberg Instituut". www.sandberg.nl. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  12. 1 2 Wolthuizen, Josien (2017-09-18). "Toch wildplasboete: 'Vrouwen kunnen ook in urinoir plassen'". Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  13. ↑ "Dutch sexism outcry after woman fined for peeing in public". Yahoo News. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  14. ↑ Boffey, Daniel (2017-09-21). "Protests planned at Amsterdam urinals over lack of women's toilets". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  15. ↑ De krullen van Amsterdam, D. Cornelissen & Zonen, 2008
  16. ↑ "Urinoirs Stadsdeel Centrum - Datasets - Kaart van Amsterdam - Gemeente Amsterdam". Gemeente Amsterdam (in Dutch). 2018-03-04. Archived from the original on 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  17. ↑ "World's first: Retractable hidden urinal for women set for Amsterdam's Dam Sq. | NL Times". nltimes.nl. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  18. ↑ Te veel mensen verdrinken in de Amsterdamse grachten, NRC, 25 March 2017
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