Athel Cornish-Bowden:
> Apparently it's different in Belgium. Once in a university department
> in Brussels the women's toilet was closed for some reason, but my wife
> was greeted with horror when she suggested using the men's. In France
> no one would raise an eyebrow. Most of the toilets in the bulding where
> we worked are unisex.

And now I'm thinking of the movie "Hidden Figures", when it comes out
that the reason Katherine Johnson seems to be spending too much time
away from her desk is that she has to walk half a mile to get to the
nearest *colored women's* lavatory.
--
Mark Brader | "We may take pride in observing that there is
Toronto | not a single film showing in London today which
msb@vex.net | deals with one of the burning issues of the day."
| -- Lord Tyrell, British film censors' chief, 1937

My text in this article is in the public domain.

El Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:46:07 -0500, Tony Cooper escribió:

> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:31:22 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
>
>>Tony Cooper wrote:
>>
>>>>I don't know. I just meant that in these days where some people do not
>>>>want to be called "man" or "woman", they would like a sign that
>>>>doesn't use those words.
>>>
>>> The signs are there to direct the person the appropriate toilet. I
>>> doubt, when needing to go to the toilet, they will stop to object to
>>> being gendered.
>>
>>True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one kind of
>>toilet rooms.
>
> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to unisex
> bathrooms. With cause.

France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.

--
Paul.

https://paulc.es

Tony Cooper wrote:

>>I have actually tried it because I rented a room at a camping site, and
>>the room was in their oldest building with two bathrooms common for all
>>the rooms. There were no signs, but helpful people had written "mænd"
>>and "kvinder" on the door frames - only there had been many helpful
>>people, and they had different oppinions about what was the men's and
>>the women's room, so the users were mixed. The shovers were in cubicles
>>with curtains.
>
> Whom did they shove?

They shoved misspellings under the carpet.

--
Bertel, Denmark

In article <ld03silmg5ecno8130orqamt440dji62a4@4ax.com>,
Tony Cooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:41:01 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:

> >occam wrote:
> >
> >> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
> >> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
> >> in astronomy department toilets.
> >
> >... and to people who know the most basic about ancient Roman or Greek
> >religion.
> >
> >> I wonder if there are any universal symbols understood by everyone, by
> >> which I mean everyone on Earth.
> >
> >A simple drawing of persons with with genitals would do the trick.

> The traditional symbols in the US are stick figures with the female in
> a skirt.

> The Scottish Games are held in this area every year. The Scots males
> consider both signs to be unisex.

and, anyway, many females wear trousers!

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

Rich Ulrich wrote:

> I might or might not have already been familiar with the obscene
> hand signal, where a forefinger is poked into the circle formed
> by the other thumb and forefinger. IIRC, that was well-known
> in South America. I think it is wider than that, now.

I learned that in school - maybe as early as 4th grade? There was aboy
in my class who was quite well-informed in these matters. I also learnt
several fourletter words without knowing what they meant.

--
Bertel, Denmark

Paul Carmichael wrote:

>>>True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one kind of
>>>toilet rooms.
>>
>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to unisex
>> bathrooms. With cause.
>
> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.

Is there often pee on the floor?

In the bridge club in my previous town there were two gendered toilets.
At the one for men it took maybe only an hour beforere there was pee on
the floor. It didn't help that there was a humourous poster
recommendingthe proper behaviour. One line said:

Please stand a little closer. It is not as long as you think.

--
Bertel, Denmark

El Tue, 06 Feb 2024 09:24:40 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen escribió:

> Paul Carmichael wrote:
>
>>>>True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one kind of
>>>>toilet rooms.
>>>
>>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to
>>> unisex bathrooms. With cause.
>>
>> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.
>
> Is there often pee on the floor?

This depends on where the toilets are. In an alcoholic environment (pub/
bar), yes, drunks piss all over the place. If they had to sit down, this
wouldn't happen, so perhaps urinals have had their day.

My wife has worked in hotels etc. and says that the women's toilets are
always far filthier than the men's.

--
Paul.

https://paulc.es

On 06/02/2024 09:03, Paul Carmichael wrote:
> El Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:46:07 -0500, Tony Cooper escribió:
>
>> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:31:22 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
>> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
>>
>>> Tony Cooper wrote:
>>>
>>>>> I don't know. I just meant that in these days where some people do not
>>>>> want to be called "man" or "woman", they would like a sign that
>>>>> doesn't use those words.
>>>>
>>>> The signs are there to direct the person the appropriate toilet. I
>>>> doubt, when needing to go to the toilet, they will stop to object to
>>>> being gendered.
>>>
>>> True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one kind of
>>> toilet rooms.
>>
>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to unisex
>> bathrooms. With cause.
>
>
> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.
>

Oh? Have you seen any French women take a leak in a "pissoir"? (They do
still exist you know. We even have an experimental one in Luxembourg. )

<https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/11x1dcd5zr8c8mg7trd93/Pissoir-Luxembourg-Gare.jpg?rlkey=19p2f601etg0ji29aaok75ks2&dl=0>

On 06/02/24 19:24, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> Paul Carmichael wrote:
>
>>>> True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one
>>>> kind of toilet rooms.
>>>
>>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to
>>> unisex bathrooms. With cause.
>>
>> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.
>
> Is there often pee on the floor?
>
> In the bridge club in my previous town there were two gendered
> toilets. At the one for men it took maybe only an hour beforere there
> was pee on the floor. It didn't help that there was a humourous
> poster recommendingthe proper behaviour. One line said:
>
> Please stand a little closer. It is not as long as you think.

A similar sign that I've seen says "Our aim is to keep this place clean.
Your aim will help."

The best solution for this problem that I've encountered is at Schiphol
airport. Each urinal has a picture of a fly on it. This has, I'm told,
improved everyone's aim enormously.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

occam hat am 06.02.2024 um 09:57 geschrieben:
> On 06/02/2024 09:03, Paul Carmichael wrote:
>> El Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:46:07 -0500, Tony Cooper escribió:
>>
>>> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:31:22 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
>>> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Tony Cooper wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> I don't know. I just meant that in these days where some people do not
>>>>>> want to be called "man" or "woman", they would like a sign that
>>>>>> doesn't use those words.
>>>>>
>>>>> The signs are there to direct the person the appropriate toilet. I
>>>>> doubt, when needing to go to the toilet, they will stop to object to
>>>>> being gendered.
>>>>
>>>> True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one kind of
>>>> toilet rooms.
>>>
>>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to unisex
>>> bathrooms. With cause.
>>
>>
>> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.
>>
>
> Oh? Have you seen any French women take a leak in a "pissoir"? (They do
> still exist you know. We even have an experimental one in Luxembourg. )
>
> <https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/11x1dcd5zr8c8mg7trd93/Pissoir-Luxembourg-Gare.jpg?rlkey=19p2f601etg0ji29aaok75ks2&dl=0>

Oh? Do you really call a pissoir a "unisex toilet facility"?

Le 06/02/2024 à 09:33, Peter Moylan a écrit :
> On 06/02/24 19:24, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>>
>> Please stand a little closer. It is not as long as you think.
>
> A similar sign that I've seen says "Our aim is to keep this place clean.
> Your aim will help." [...]

I've seen a variant of that one: "We aim to please. You aim too, please."

On 05/02/2024 21:50, Jerry Friedman wrote:
> On Monday, February 5, 2024 at 12:28:55 PM UTC-7, occam wrote:
>> On 05/02/2024 17:26, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>>> On Monday, February 5, 2024 at 5:30:35 AM UTC-7, occam wrote:
>>>> Here's an unusual 'Male/Female' toilet sign. It should appeal to the
>>>> bird lovers in AUE.
>>>>
>>>> There was a thread while ago discussing the symbolism of toilet signs in
>>>> different cultures.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9jieh8djrjs10lr54scwx/Toilet-sign.jpg?rlkey=5loulys3ydnlcvkcmcp4zcxqo&dl=0>
>>>
>>> Cute.
>>>
>>> I suppose somebody somewhere has used a rooster and a cat.
>>>
>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'.
>
> Well spotted. I didn't want to be taken figuratively.
>
>> Note, these mental images which only make
>> sense in English.
>
> A couple of gray cells are connecting... I'm searching... here it is, a note
> by Dudley Fitts on his translation of Aristophanes' /The Birds/:
>
> "26: Bird of Araby: This is the Cock, the Persian Bird, here called Mêdos
> 'the Median'. (The phallic pun is the same in Greek as in English.)"
>
> You'd know whether the pun still works in modern Greek.

Yes, it does. 'κοκοράs' (cockerel) is a modern euphemism. 'γάτα' (cat)
on the other hand is not.

>> Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
>> in astronomy department toilets.
>
> :-)
>

On 05/02/2024 23:17, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> occam <occam@erewhon.nix> wrote:
>
>> On 05/02/2024 17:26, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>>> On Monday, February 5, 2024 at 5:30:35?AM UTC-7, occam wrote:
>>>> Here's an unusual 'Male/Female' toilet sign. It should appeal to the
>>>> bird lovers in AUE.
>>>>
>>>> There was a thread while ago discussing the symbolism of toilet signs in
>>>> different cultures.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9jieh8djrjs10lr54scwx/Toilet-sign.jpg?rlkey
> =5loulys3ydnlcvkcmcp4zcxqo&dl=0>
>>>
>>> Cute.
>>>
>>> I suppose somebody somewhere has used a rooster and a cat.
>>>
>>
>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
>> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
>> in astronomy department toilets.
>
> ???
> The traditional astronomical/astrological symbols for Venus and Mars
> (circle with cross below and circle with diagonal up arrow)
> have been widely taken over as male/female symbols,
> in all of 'western' culture,

Yes, I'd recognise the circle (with a cross / arrow) as male/female
symbols. But I doubt if many people - outside of astrology charts -
would attribute them as symbols for 'Venus' and 'Mars'. (The
intermediate step has been lost except to star-sign columns.)

I came across another interesting 'universal' symbol of male/female
toilets. 'XX' and 'XY'. The problem is, most people would be walking
into the wrong room 50% of the time, if they're anything like me.

It's best to be more explicit (and less clever) in such cases.

Le 05/02/2024 à 19:28, occam a écrit :
>
> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
> in astronomy department toilets.

Hot and cloudy vs cold and red?

On 06/02/2024 09:15, charles wrote:
> In article <ld03silmg5ecno8130orqamt440dji62a4@4ax.com>,
> Tony Cooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:41:01 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
>> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
>
>>> occam wrote:
>>>
>>>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
>>>> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
>>>> in astronomy department toilets.
>>>
>>> ... and to people who know the most basic about ancient Roman or Greek
>>> religion.
>>>
>>>> I wonder if there are any universal symbols understood by everyone, by
>>>> which I mean everyone on Earth.
>>>
>>> A simple drawing of persons with with genitals would do the trick.
>
>> The traditional symbols in the US are stick figures with the female in
>> a skirt.
>
>> The Scottish Games are held in this area every year. The Scots males
>> consider both signs to be unisex.
>
> and, anyway, many females wear trousers!
>

Ha hah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7evo7ZWCYU0

On 2024-02-06 08:15:03 +0000, charles said:

> In article <ld03silmg5ecno8130orqamt440dji62a4@4ax.com>,
> Tony Cooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:41:01 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
>> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
>
>>> occam wrote:
>>>
>>>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
>>>> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
>>>> in astronomy department toilets.
>>>
>>> ... and to people who know the most basic about ancient Roman or Greek
>>> religion.
>>>
>>>> I wonder if there are any universal symbols understood by everyone, by
>>>> which I mean everyone on Earth.
>>>
>>> A simple drawing of persons with with genitals would do the trick.
>
>> The traditional symbols in the US are stick figures with the female in
>> a skirt.
>
>> The Scottish Games are held in this area every year. The Scots males
>> consider both signs to be unisex.
>
> and, anyway, many females wear trousers!

You know what they say: if you wear a kilt in London they think you're
from Scotland; if you wear one in Edinburgh they think you're from the
Highlands; if you wear one in the Highlands they know you're American.
--
Athel cb

On 2024-02-05, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:

> occam wrote:
>
>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
>> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
>> in astronomy department toilets.
>
> ... and to people who know the most basic about ancient Roman or Greek
> religion.
>
>> I wonder if there are any universal symbols understood by everyone, by
>> which I mean everyone on Earth.
>
> A simple drawing of persons with with genitals would do the trick.

People complained about the nekkid humans on the Pioneer Plaque. Some
people also complained about the prudish lack of vulva on it.

--
I have a natural revulsion to any operating system that shows so
little planning as to have to named all of its commands after
digestive noises (awk, grep, fsck, nroff).
_The UNIX-HATERS Handbook_

On 2024-02-05, charles wrote:

> In article <l2cn87Feeo8U1@mid.individual.net>,
> Athel Cornish-Bowden <me@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> On 2024-02-05 18:04:04 +0000, Blueshirt said:
>
>> > Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>> >
>> >> occam wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Here's an unusual 'Male/Female' toilet sign. It should appeal to
>> >>> the bird lovers in AUE.
>> >>
>> >> Very nice. You write "Male/Female", but the signs are actually
>> >> completely general. They refer only to physiscal equipment.
>> >
>> > The way the world is going why not just have toilets for everyone
>> > these days? One sign, saying "Toilet". No need for little drawings
>> > of people either. Think of the money it would save!!!
>> >
>> > I don't have separate toilets in my house for Male and Female... one
>> > toilet sits all.
>
>> That's also how it is in aeroplanes, buses and trains. It doesn't seem
>> to create any problems. In France it's not unusual for people to use
>> the "wrong" toilet when it's necessary (for example when the "right"
>> one is closed for cleaning).
>
>> Apparently it's different in Belgium. Once in a university department
>> in Brussels the women's toilet was closed for some reason, but my wife
>> was greeted with horror when she suggested using the men's. In France
>> no one would raise an eyebrow. Most of the toilets in the bulding where
>> we worked are unisex.
>
> On looking round our new office premises, we spotted a shower room with a
> "unisex" (man/woman) symbol. One of the female secretaries asked, in
> horror, "Does that mean you have to take a boy in with you?"

"Save water --- shower with a friend"

--
Just memorize these shell commands and type them to sync up. If you
get errors, save your work elsewhere, delete the project, and download
a fresh copy. <https://xkcd.com/1597/>

On 2024-02-06, occam wrote:

> On 06/02/2024 09:03, Paul Carmichael wrote:
>> El Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:46:07 -0500, Tony Cooper escribió:
>>
>>> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:31:22 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
>>> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Tony Cooper wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> I don't know. I just meant that in these days where some people do not
>>>>>> want to be called "man" or "woman", they would like a sign that
>>>>>> doesn't use those words.
>>>>>
>>>>> The signs are there to direct the person the appropriate toilet. I
>>>>> doubt, when needing to go to the toilet, they will stop to object to
>>>>> being gendered.
>>>>
>>>> True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one kind of
>>>> toilet rooms.
>>>
>>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to unisex
>>> bathrooms. With cause.
>>
>>
>> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.
>>
>
> Oh? Have you seen any French women take a leak in a "pissoir"? (They do
> still exist you know. We even have an experimental one in Luxembourg. )
>
><https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/11x1dcd5zr8c8mg7trd93/Pissoir-Luxembourg-Gare.jpg?rlkey=19p2f601etg0ji29aaok75ks2&dl=0>

I think he's talking about the ones in (some, many? not all) bars
where there is one room with a sink and several toilet stalls.

--
[English doesn't] just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued
other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle
their pockets for new vocabulary. (James Nicoll)

On 2024-02-05, J. J. Lodder wrote:

> occam <occam@erewhon.nix> wrote:
>
>> On 05/02/2024 17:26, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>> > On Monday, February 5, 2024 at 5:30:35?AM UTC-7, occam wrote:
>> >> Here's an unusual 'Male/Female' toilet sign. It should appeal to the
>> >> bird lovers in AUE.
>> >>
>> >> There was a thread while ago discussing the symbolism of toilet signs in
>> >> different cultures.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> <https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9jieh8djrjs10lr54scwx/Toilet-sign.jpg?rlkey
>=5loulys3ydnlcvkcmcp4zcxqo&dl=0>
>> >
>> > Cute.
>> >
>> > I suppose somebody somewhere has used a rooster and a cat.
>> >
>>
>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
>> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
>> in astronomy department toilets.
>
> ???
> The traditional astronomical/astrological symbols for Venus and Mars
> (circle with cross below and circle with diagonal up arrow)
> have been widely taken over as male/female symbols,
> in all of 'western' culture,

I agree: I think a lot more people know what they mean as
toilet/gender symbols than in astronomy, astrology, or alchemy.

--
The stakes are high and so am I

On 2024-02-05, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:

> Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
>
>>>> I suppose somebody somewhere has used a rooster and a cat.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'.
>>
>> "Chatte" would be OK in French, but not "coq".
>
> They wouldn't perhaps get the penis meaning, but surely the male one?

I think "le chat" & "la chatte" both work, but maybe the
(grammatically) feminine one is more common now. The penis words are
mostly feminine: la bitte, la queue, la verge.

So I don't think "male chicken" would get the meaning across except as
Frenglish.

--
I take no pleasure in being right in my dark predictions about the
fate of our military intervention in the heart of the Muslim world. It
is immensely depressing to me. Nobody likes to be betting against the
Home team, no matter how hopeless they are. ---Hunter S Thompson

In article <l2el0fFomdaU1@mid.individual.net>,
Athel Cornish-Bowden <me@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 2024-02-06 08:15:03 +0000, charles said:

> > In article <ld03silmg5ecno8130orqamt440dji62a4@4ax.com>,
> > Tony Cooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:41:01 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
> >> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
> >
> >>> occam wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
> >>>> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
> >>>> in astronomy department toilets.
> >>>
> >>> ... and to people who know the most basic about ancient Roman or Greek
> >>> religion.
> >>>
> >>>> I wonder if there are any universal symbols understood by everyone, by
> >>>> which I mean everyone on Earth.
> >>>
> >>> A simple drawing of persons with with genitals would do the trick.
> >
> >> The traditional symbols in the US are stick figures with the female in
> >> a skirt.
> >
> >> The Scottish Games are held in this area every year. The Scots males
> >> consider both signs to be unisex.
> >
> > and, anyway, many females wear trousers!

> You know what they say: if you wear a kilt in London they think you're
> from Scotland; if you wear one in Edinburgh they think you're from the
> Highlands; if you wear one in the Highlands they know you're American.

But, my father had a friend who was Sheriff of Orkney and he wore a kilt
all the time.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 2024-02-06 09:33:52 +0000, Peter Moylan said:

> On 06/02/24 19:24, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
>> Paul Carmichael wrote:
>>
>>>>> True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one
>>>>> kind of toilet rooms.
>>>>
>>>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to
>>>> unisex bathrooms. With cause.
>>>
>>> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.
>>
>> Is there often pee on the floor?
>>
>> In the bridge club in my previous town there were two gendered
>> toilets. At the one for men it took maybe only an hour beforere there
>> was pee on the floor. It didn't help that there was a humourous
>> poster recommendingthe proper behaviour. One line said:
>>
>> Please stand a little closer. It is not as long as you think.
>
> A similar sign that I've seen says "Our aim is to keep this place clean.
> Your aim will help."
>
> The best solution for this problem that I've encountered is at Schiphol
> airport. Each urinal has a picture of a fly on it. This has, I'm told,
> improved everyone's aim enormously.

Yes. I've seen those in various places. I think they're German in
origin. It's a very realistic-looking fly.

Something that I was very struck by when we were first in France was
that there was almost no graffiti in French toilets, and when I did see
one it was usually in English and dealt with such subjects as the sizes
of the penises of supporters of Manchester United. I think that's
probably still true, but now I don't often visut public toilets. I'm
not sure how to explain it, but maybe it has to do with a lack
embarrassment about natural functions.

--
Athel cb

On 2024-02-06 10:49:37 +0000, occam said:

> On 05/02/2024 23:17, J. J. Lodder wrote:
>> occam <occam@erewhon.nix> wrote:
>>
>>> On 05/02/2024 17:26, Jerry Friedman wrote:
>>>> On Monday, February 5, 2024 at 5:30:35?AM UTC-7, occam wrote:
>>>>> Here's an unusual 'Male/Female' toilet sign. It should appeal to the
>>>>> bird lovers in AUE.
>>>>>
>>>>> There was a thread while ago discussing the symbolism of toilet signs in
>>>>> different cultures.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> <https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9jieh8djrjs10lr54scwx/Toilet-sign.jpg?rlkey
>> =5loulys3ydnlcvkcmcp4zcxqo&dl=0>
>>>>
>>>> Cute.
>>>>
>>>> I suppose somebody somewhere has used a rooster and a cat.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You mean 'cock' and 'pussy'. Note, these mental images which only make
>>> sense in English. Just as images of 'Venus' and 'Mars' only make sense
>>> in astronomy department toilets.
>>
>> ???
>> The traditional astronomical/astrological symbols for Venus and Mars
>> (circle with cross below and circle with diagonal up arrow)
>> have been widely taken over as male/female symbols,
>> in all of 'western' culture,
>
> Yes, I'd recognise the circle (with a cross / arrow) as male/female
> symbols. But I doubt if many people - outside of astrology charts -
> would attribute them as symbols for 'Venus' and 'Mars'. (The
> intermediate step has been lost except to star-sign columns.)
>
> I came across another interesting 'universal' symbol of male/female
> toilets. 'XX' and 'XY'. The problem is, most people would be walking
> into the wrong room 50% of the time, if they're anything like me.

When I was in Israel in 1962 I saw that they used 00 and 000 as
symbols. I suppose at the time I learned which was which. More recent
visits to Israel suggest that this system is no longer used.
>
> It's best to be more explicit (and less clever) in such cases.

--
Athel cb

On 2024-02-06, occam wrote:

> On 06/02/2024 09:03, Paul Carmichael wrote:
>> El Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:46:07 -0500, Tony Cooper escribió:
>>
>>> On Mon, 5 Feb 2024 23:31:22 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
>>> <gadekryds@lundhansen.dk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Tony Cooper wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> I don't know. I just meant that in these days where some people do not
>>>>>> want to be called "man" or "woman", they would like a sign that
>>>>>> doesn't use those words.
>>>>>
>>>>> The signs are there to direct the person the appropriate toilet. I
>>>>> doubt, when needing to go to the toilet, they will stop to object to
>>>>> being gendered.
>>>>
>>>> True. I'm looking forward to the day where there's only one kind of
>>>> toilet rooms.
>>>
>>> That's rarely an issue for men. Women, however, often object to unisex
>>> bathrooms. With cause.
>>
>>
>> France has had unisex toilet facilities forever. Nobody cares.
>>
>
> Oh? Have you seen any French women take a leak in a "pissoir"? (They do
> still exist you know. We even have an experimental one in Luxembourg. )
>
><https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/11x1dcd5zr8c8mg7trd93/Pissoir-Luxembourg-Gare.jpg?rlkey=19p2f601etg0ji29aaok75ks2&dl=0>

That's pretty fancy. This is the real deal:

<https://www.ducksburg.com/misc/20130125-113333.jpg>

and it's still there, according to Google maps:

<https://maps.app.goo.gl/TcNQaobTFfkQ1Y789>

--
Slade was the coolest band in England. They were the kind of guys
that would push your car out of a ditch. ---Alice Cooper