We can’t get no relief in this pandemic

New Statesman

Last year, the Royal Society for Public Health published a report:

And as we leave lockdown, says Jonn Elledge, the consequences of that decline are being felt as never before. Social life has migrated outside, from pubs and cafés to parks and riversides, accompanied by a torrent of public urination and defecation. It needn’t have been this way. In the late 19th century, councils built “veritable palaces of public convenience”, where citizens could “spend a penny” (literally). But as the 20th century wore on, the UK privatised its toilets. Councils started selling them off – a process that accelerated during the austerity years: between 2010 and 2018, they closed 13% of the ones they still had. This was manageable, when pubs and shopping centres provided alternatives. But these were closed in lockdown. No surprise then, that both public “pissing” and sales of Shewee, a portable urination device for women, have spiked. When the pandemic is over, we need to fix this. “Some little luxuries in life are worth spending a penny on.”

Taking the P***: The Decline of the Great Public Toilet. An Indian businessman has spent £3,000 on a bespoke gold face mask to protect himself from coronavirus. “It is a thin mask and has tiny pores that is helping me to breathe,” said Shankar Kurhade, from the city of Pune. “People are asking me for selfies... they are awestruck,” he said. “I am not sure if it will be effective to protect me from a coronavirus infection, but I am taking other precautions.”

A Burmese cat named Oscar survived a 12-minute cycle in a washing machine. His owner Amanda Meredith said she only realised what had happened when she heard an odd meowing sound at her home in Queensland, Australia, shortly after her husband put on a wash. It took an agonising two minutes for the machine to drain. “The poor little cat had his hands on the glass as he was doing the rotations, and he was looking at me,” she said. But he came out largely unharmed, and “very soft”. “Maybe he has PTSD,” said Meredith: Oscar now sits, “watching the wash cycle”.