The Pee Curl

Peeing can be dangerous…especially in Amsterdam. On average nearly 18 people drown in the canals every year with 40% of them involving alcohol or drug use. In an effort to reduce the number of drownings the city has added stairs, ropes, and grabbing stones to the walls of the canal, but my personal favorite solution was the peeing curls.

I spent one night in Amsterdam about four years ago and one of the biggest culture shocks for me were the bathrooms. We went on a bar hopping tour on the main strip and to my surprise, after waiting in the long lines you were asked to pay to use the toilets. As someone who didn’t come prepared with cash the canals were starting to look like a really nice option even to me.

The peeing curl was simply just that — a curl of metal with a small drain against the wall that allowed you to pee freely in public safely. The only thing about this design is that it wasn’t intended for women.

Although it is there for anyone it functionally isn’t meant for women since having a completely closed toilet with stalls that reached the ground would be too high of a cost and put the city at risk of an increase of lewd conduct. As a woman I wouldn’t feel safe just dropping trow in the most public parts of the street surrounded by drunk men in a cubicle that really only allows protection for men. From a woman’s perspective there must be better ways to create a public urinal that provides effective cover and not just shy of the bare minimum.