toilets Archives - Your Mileage May Vary

My Unusual Toilet Encounter At The Epicurean Hotel

We enjoyed our short stay at the Epicurean Hotel in Tampa a while back. However during our visit, I think I discovered one of THE most poorly designed bathrooms in the state.

We were hanging out on one of their 2nd-floor terraces when nature started calling, so I walked to the elevator and up to the 4th floor. Since there was a bar (named “Edge”) there, I figured there would, therefore, be facilities, as well. And I was right – there was a men’s room and a ladies’ room right off the elevator.

I opened the door to the ladies’ room and the room was dark but as I stepped in to look for the light switch, the light suddenly went on automatically. I was then able to see that the “regular” light switch had been replaced with something different, so I surmised that in an attempt to ~~save money on electricity when no one was actually in the bathroom~~ be green, the light was controlled by a motion sensor. Interesting. Continue reading “My Unusual Toilet Encounter At The Epicurean Hotel”

A Sneaky Workaround For Using Squat Toilets

The first time I encountered a squat toilet was the early-mid 1990s, when I went to Japan with a friend of mine named Teri. It was a very different experience for a Westerner to visit back then…the internet wasn’t as all-encompassing as it is now, so you had less opportunity to learn the ins and outs as a visitor. There weren’t nearly as many “English subtitles” to help you with street signs, transportation, etc. (I spoke about 100 words of Japanese at the time [including the furniture one would find in a living room, because you NEED that as a tourist], Teri could only say “thank-you” in the language, and neither of us could read or write in hiragana, katakana or kanji. Teri and I would sit with a map and compare characters to figure out where we were and where we wanted to go). And there were many less Western-style toilets than there are nowadays.

We were in a public park and I had to go. I had little idea of how to use a squat toilet the right way, and although I didn’t make a mess, (thank goodness), it was NOT a comfortable position for me to be in.

Continue reading “A Sneaky Workaround For Using Squat Toilets”

The Map With Every Public Restroom In The Five Boroughs Of New York City

You guys, I think this is a dream come true!

If you’re ever in NYC, especially if you’re a tourist, it’s not always easy to find a public toilet. Some places let anyone use the facilities, some only allow customers and clients to use them. You might go past a public restroom but not want to use it because based on smell and visuals alone, who knows what’s been going on in there. You may be in the middle of a residential area (they exist!) and just not know where the nearest bathroom that’s open to the public is. And let’s face it…sometimes when you gotta go, you gotta GO, right?

Well, Dr. Wansoo Im, who has his PhD in Urban Planning, has developed a fix for that. An Associate Professor at Meharry Medical College and a former Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University, Dr. Im is a pioneer of interactive, web/mobile-based Geographic Information Systems to support community-based participation and research on a wide range of social and environmental issues. Dr. Im’s projects have included nationwide watershed maps, maps of potential mosquito breeding grounds that could contribute to the spread of the Zika virus, and a mapping project of operating gas stations in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. But the best project he’s worked on, at least for tourists, is the one where he’s developed a community participation-based interactive map of every available restroom in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

Continue reading “The Map With Every Public Restroom In The Five Boroughs Of New York City”

What’s Up With O’Hare Airport & Its Public Toilets?

Joe and I went to Chicago to visit a friend in the mid-1990s and when I stopped at the ladies’ room after we landed at O’Hare International Aiport, I was surprised to see the oddest looking toilet I had ever seen in the U.S. The toilet itself was pretty typical but the seat had a plastic wrapper on it. The sign in the stall said to press the button and the plastic would be replaced for my hygienic safety, or some such. When we went back to Chicago last summer, these weird toilets were still there, still freshly wrapping the seat in plastic for your butt.

My question this summer was exactly the same as it was circa 1995…
Continue reading “What’s Up With O’Hare Airport & Its Public Toilets?”

Opening of Toy Story Land, Replacement of Beloved Plane Snack, Update on Target Gift Cards & More

Happy Sunday y’all! We hope you had a good week! Here are some travel articles we’ve recently seen that we think you may enjoy.

Gary from View From The Wing shared that United will be replacing the Stroopwafel snack on domestic flights with a maple flavored cookie. Now I know that many people, myself included, find the snack cart/basket to be the best part of the flight. If you really want your Stroopwafel when you fly United, you could always buy them on Amazon.com. Just remember that you may have to take that snack out of your bag when going through the TSA checkpoint.

Lucky from One Mile At A Time just stayed at a MOXY hotel for the first time. As a millennial, he’s the prime demographic for the brand. However, he found the MOXY at the Vienna Airport lacked many things he needs when traveling. Now, we’ve stayed at a MOXY in the US and loved the experience. In the comments, it’s mentioned that MOXY hotels in Europe are trying to compete with hostels so the offerings are different than the hotels in the US which makes sense. I’d be interested to see more people’s opinions on the brand as we thought it was a pleasant change from a regular hotel room.
Jason from Million Mile Secrets just visited the Park Hyatt Tokyo and posted a review….. of his room’s toilet. We totally understand as we shared a picture of our first Japanese hotel toilet from the Holiday Inn in Kyoto from 2005.
Road Warriorette shared tips on how to prepare for a flight that will not have any in flight entertainment. Her hints on how to make viewing your own device easier on a plane are wonderful and I’m going to use them on my next flight.
As per Doctor of Credit, it looks like Target is no longer allowing you to use Target gift cards to purchase other types of gift cards. That’s a shame because I’ll no longer be able to use the trick I learned to save 10% off our Disney passes for the last two years. Good thing I know other ways to save on theme park admission tickets.
Speaking of theme parks, Toy Story land opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando earlier this week and the staff of Laughing Place was there to report on the dedication ceremony.
If you have a Citi credit card that earns Thank You points, check your email. Mark from Miles to Memories let us know that offers for bonus points have gone out to cardholders in recent days. I received one of these offers for 5x points on dining, shopping and groceries for the next three months which I’ll take full advantage of.

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