Visitors from Europe are always amazed that public restrooms in the US offer so little privacy. The doors on the toilets don't go down to the floor, and usually have notable gaps around the door all the way up. Anyone who is inclined to look can see you doing your business in there. Lucky for us, most people are not inclined to look because that's both rude and creepy. We tell them it's because authorities or business owners want to know if people are in there doing drugs or sleeping or something they shouldn't. But that's not the original reason toilet stalls were designed this way. The first US very public toilet stall design came from architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and his reason for it was a surprise to me.
Yes, we can turn around and ask Brits why their bathroom sinks have separate hot and cold water faucets, which is inconvenient and can be dangerous. We also want to know why public toilets don't have lids, and why the seats have a gap in the front. Read up in the arcane reasons behind these and more burning bathroom questions at Cracked.
(Image credit: MarkBuckawicki)
