{"id":5530,"date":"2021-08-18T14:07:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T12:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/the-not-so-cheeky-story-of-public-toilets\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T17:26:09","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T15:26:09","slug":"the-not-so-cheeky-story-of-public-toilets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/the-not-so-cheeky-story-of-public-toilets\/","title":{"rendered":"The (not so) cheeky story of public toilets!"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5530\" class=\"elementor elementor-5530 elementor-632\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-120bfa2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"120bfa2\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fea45cc\" data-id=\"fea45cc\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-233e459 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"233e459\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">THE (NOT VERY CHEEKY) STORY <br>PUBLIC TOILETS<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-85ae8ff elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"85ae8ff\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b818017\" data-id=\"b818017\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d7db22f elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"d7db22f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-b363e61 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/2021\/08\/18\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-calendar\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-post-info__item-prefix\">Mis \u00e0 jour le<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>August 18, 2021<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-09a1a3a elementor-inline-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"far fa-clock\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-time\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-post-info__item-prefix\">\u00e0<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>14:07<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f6f4bf9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f6f4bf9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>It&#8217;s quite a story, that of the appearance of public toilets! Often a subject of ridicule, public toilets remain a need and an essential social right in urban environments. Today, we&#8217;re sharing their history with you, from their creation by the Roman Emperor Vespasian to today&#8217;s women&#8217;s urinals.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #686aa3;\"><strong>A urine tax, seriously?!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The history of public toilets began in Rome in the first century A.D., when the emperor Vespasian, father of Titus, decided to establish a tax on urine. This tax may sound funny, but it turned out to be very prolific, since urine was used by textile workers at the time for the cleaning properties of the ammonia it contained. So Vespasian set up what can be considered the very first public toilets. Containers were placed in the streets of Rome so that textile workers could come and collect the urine when passers-by had filled them.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f3501a7 elementor-blockquote--skin-border elementor-widget elementor-widget-blockquote\" data-id=\"f3501a7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"blockquote.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote class=\"elementor-blockquote\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-blockquote__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\"Pecunia non olet\" (Money doesn't smell)\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-644b9fd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"644b9fd\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-39b5fb3\" data-id=\"39b5fb3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7046357 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"7046357\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"192\" height=\"262\" src=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Colonne-de-Rambuteau.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-4939\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-05bfc6b\" data-id=\"05bfc6b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-500e1fb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"500e1fb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><span style=\"color: #686aa3;\"><strong>From <span style=\"color: #686aa3;\">cesspools<\/span> to Rambuteau columns<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In France, until the end of the 18th century, it was usual to relieve oneself anywhere outdoors. However, at the end of the 1700s, an edict formally prohibited these practices &#8220;de par le Roy&#8221;, making life very difficult for the French!<br \/>Antoine de Sartine, lieutenant-general of the police, decided to install cesspools in the streets of Paris to allow passers-by to relieve themselves. With urine still considered a source of income, this time for the phosphate it contains (a natural fertilizer), the race for innovation began.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7e1cd1f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7e1cd1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In 1800, two types of thoughts emerged:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Urine must be collected as it is a source of income.<\/li>\n<li>Passers-by must be able to relieve themselves quickly without risking a fine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t until 1834 that the first public toilets appeared, thanks to the Comte de Rambuteau (George Haussmann&#8217;s predecessor as pr\u00e9fet de la Seine).<\/p>\n<p>After an epidemic of cholera that devastated the country, hygiene became a major issue to prevent the spread of bacteria and diseases. The Count therefore installed the first public toilets on the boulevards of Paris. Rambuteau&#8217;s individual urinals were designed to provide the City of Light with more hygienic toilet facilities.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #686aa3;\"><strong>The emergence of vespasas in Paris<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t until the end of the 19th century that Parisian &#8220;Vespasiennes&#8221; saw the light of day<em>(see<\/em> Emperor Vespasian mentioned above). These small &#8220;necessity&#8221; cabins finally enable women to relieve themselves away from home. In the 60s, the vespasiennes became a meeting place for homosexuals, where men seeking new relationships liked to linger. However, these homosexual relationships are frowned upon and tarnish the reputation of the vespasiennes. The National Assembly therefore decided to demolish them.<\/p>\n<p>Gradually, the vespasiennes disappeared from Parisian streets, giving way, twenty years later, to the first urinal of the JC Decaux brand, today the world leader in street furniture.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-85d4968 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"85d4968\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"838\" height=\"629\" src=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-4942\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_1.jpg 838w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_1-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1076173 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1076173\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1673\" height=\"1256\" src=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-4941\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_2.jpg 1673w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_2-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_2-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_2-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/toilettes_2-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1673px) 100vw, 1673px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3279e6b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3279e6b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><span style=\"color: #686aa3;\"><strong>What about women&nbsp;?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>From this brief retrospective of the history of public toilets, it&#8217;s easy to see that they were never really designed with women in mind. <br>And yet&nbsp;! Women spend 2.5 times more time in the toilets than men. They are therefore the ones who are the most in need of public toilets.<\/p>\n<p>Until the beginning of the 21st century, women only had &#8221;&nbsp;small cabins&nbsp;&#8221; to relieve themselves of a pressing urge. In 1981, JC Decaux created the first sanitary unit dedicated to women.<br>After nearly 2,000 years without much consideration, women are finally seeing solutions such as Lapee urinals, designed especially for them. Tested in Toulouse in 2019, this innovation will finally enable women to relieve themselves in public spaces in complete safety and without having to endure long queues&nbsp;!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #686aa3; text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #686aa3; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=1544493102353969\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch the video presentation of urinals for women<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-76ed545 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"76ed545\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"740\" height=\"387\" src=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/lapee-urinoir-femmes-1024x535.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-4940\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/lapee-urinoir-femmes-1024x535.png 1024w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/lapee-urinoir-femmes-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/lapee-urinoir-femmes-768x401.png 768w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/lapee-urinoir-femmes-1536x802.png 1536w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/lapee-urinoir-femmes-600x313.png 600w, https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/lapee-urinoir-femmes.png 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc08ca8 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"cc08ca8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8391eba elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8391eba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>For more information:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.franceculture.fr\/histoire\/de-lamphore-aux-sanisettes-lhistoire-parfois-erotique-des-toilettes-publiques\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the France Culture article<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE (NOT VERY CHEEKY) STORY PUBLIC TOILETS It&#8217;s quite a story, that of the appearance of public toilets! Often a subject of ridicule, public toilets remain a need and an essential social right in urban environments. Today, we&#8217;re sharing their history with you, from their creation by the Roman Emperor Vespasian to today&#8217;s women&#8217;s urinals. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4942,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[82,78,76,80,81],"class_list":["post-5530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-public-toilets","tag-sanitary","tag-toilet","tag-toilet-en","tag-vespasienne-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ici-toilettes.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}