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https://restroomarchive.com/r/2026-08-29-grand-army-plaza-automatic-public-toilet https://restroomarchive.com/r/2026-08-29-grand-army-plaza-au... > has a count

by v9v 18d ago

https://restroomarchive.com/r/2026-08-29-grand-army-plaza-automatic-public-toilet https://restroomarchive.com/r/2026-08-29-grand-army-plaza-au... > has a countdown timer above warning visitors that the door will auto-open in x amount of time. A toilet that has a door with a countdown seems like the most stress-inducing thing ever.

stronglikedan 17d ago
> A toilet that has a door with a countdown seems like the most stress-inducing thing ever. It would be more stressful to the people who are standing there watching me finish my shit than it would be to me, I guarantee.
Doohickey-d 18d ago
It's quite common in Europe. Usually you get 15 minutes which seems fairly generous.
- deleted 18d ago
  [deleted]
- brettermeier 18d ago
  What, where? Never saw this.
- Sander_Marechal 18d ago
  I've been all over Europe and I have never seen this....
- yitchelle 18d ago
  I have seen a couple of them in Cologne.
  - abcd_f 18d ago
    ... et voilà, we now know where the GP is from :)
- embedding-shape 18d ago
  "Quite common"? I've spent more than 3 decades here, visited most of the countries on the western side, both north and south (although embarrassingly little eastern parts), and have not seen this once in my life. Thinking about it, I haven't seen this anywhere in the world.
  - keiferski 17d ago
    The fact that you haven’t been in central or Eastern Europe might be the key. I haven’t seen an actual countdown timer, but many of the public toilets in Poland have time limits that are displayed on a sign, and announced by the computer voice loudspeaker. Usually it’s 30 minutes though IIRC.
  - looperhacks 18d ago
    You will usually see these in public places that have no other access controls - think in a park, rather than in a restaurant. It's for places that have a high risk of people sleeping in them.
    - embedding-shape 18d ago
      Yeah, I do visit public bathrooms from time to time, especially in Spain, Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden, and never seen that once anywhere, although I've seen much worse things on single occasions than a timer for the door to open.
      - aa-jv 18d ago
        I've seen them in some of the shadier parks in the Netherlands, Italy and Austria. Yppenplatz, Vienna, has a particularly nasty (smelling) one which the countdown clock does very little to obviate.
        jakzurr 17d ago
        A really nasty smell would get me out fast. Can't imagine any use for the timer, unless you're trying to estimate the remaining oxygen.
- deleted 18d ago
  [deleted]
- easywood 18d ago
  "quite common in Europe" oh please. I live there, traveled quite a bit, and have never seen one or heard of one.
- croon 17d ago
  I'm not going to pile on since there is already a handful of comments stating the same, but I think we can all be guilty of "This thing exists/happens specifically where I and most people I interact with live, so it must be common (in [superset])". It's very good to be mindful of when making assumptions/imprinting generalizations.
xyzelement 17d ago
Shit or get off the pot.
waltbosz 17d ago
The bathroom also has braille text on the signs below the mirror. I assume one would wash their hands after reading.

by v9v 18d ago

stronglikedan 17d ago

> A toilet that has a door with a countdown seems like the most stress-inducing thing ever. It would be more stressful to the people who are standing there watching me finish my shit than it would be to me, I guarantee.

Doohickey-d 18d ago

It's quite common in Europe. Usually you get 15 minutes which seems fairly generous.

deleted 18d ago
[deleted]
brettermeier 18d ago
What, where? Never saw this.
Sander_Marechal 18d ago
I've been all over Europe and I have never seen this....
yitchelle 18d ago
I have seen a couple of them in Cologne.
- abcd_f 18d ago
  ... et voilà, we now know where the GP is from :)
embedding-shape 18d ago
"Quite common"? I've spent more than 3 decades here, visited most of the countries on the western side, both north and south (although embarrassingly little eastern parts), and have not seen this once in my life. Thinking about it, I haven't seen this anywhere in the world.
- keiferski 17d ago
  The fact that you haven’t been in central or Eastern Europe might be the key. I haven’t seen an actual countdown timer, but many of the public toilets in Poland have time limits that are displayed on a sign, and announced by the computer voice loudspeaker. Usually it’s 30 minutes though IIRC.
- looperhacks 18d ago
  You will usually see these in public places that have no other access controls - think in a park, rather than in a restaurant. It's for places that have a high risk of people sleeping in them.
  - embedding-shape 18d ago
    Yeah, I do visit public bathrooms from time to time, especially in Spain, Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden, and never seen that once anywhere, although I've seen much worse things on single occasions than a timer for the door to open.
    - aa-jv 18d ago
      I've seen them in some of the shadier parks in the Netherlands, Italy and Austria. Yppenplatz, Vienna, has a particularly nasty (smelling) one which the countdown clock does very little to obviate.
      - jakzurr 17d ago
        A really nasty smell would get me out fast. Can't imagine any use for the timer, unless you're trying to estimate the remaining oxygen.
deleted 18d ago
[deleted]
easywood 18d ago
"quite common in Europe" oh please. I live there, traveled quite a bit, and have never seen one or heard of one.
croon 17d ago
I'm not going to pile on since there is already a handful of comments stating the same, but I think we can all be guilty of "This thing exists/happens specifically where I and most people I interact with live, so it must be common (in [superset])". It's very good to be mindful of when making assumptions/imprinting generalizations.

xyzelement 17d ago

Shit or get off the pot.

waltbosz 17d ago

The bathroom also has braille text on the signs below the mirror. I assume one would wash their hands after reading.