Whatever happened to Canberra's space-age self-cleaning toilets?

I suspect you’re correct iObject.

I’ll put the Star Trek toilet promise next to the paperless office promise given to me in the mid 80’s.

Perhaps they still are the toilets of the future…

The future just isn’t as shiney as we first imagined – and apparently is urine-scented.

Sex in the toilet … new name for a cocktail perhaps?

Hey Whatsup – I wasn’t saying that they should be used for the purpose of sex.

I never used them. I remember when they went in the Newcastle and was freaked out mby the whole self cleaning thing too Granny… eee

It was the HAL doors, poptop, combined with an unhelpfully vivid imagination …. (I did try to be brave in front of the kids, though)!

LOL!

I’m sorry I can’t do that, Dave.

Yep they had a wash cycle.

Can’t see why they made you claustrophobic though, they are much roomier than a standard cubicle.

poptop said :

The toilets used open of their own volition, although after repeated verbal warnings, after a set period of being ‘engaged’

That’s one thing that freaked me out – what if the doors opened before I finished?! Eek!

And the other was weren’t they supposed to be self-cleaning?

I sometimes had visions of the automatic door mechanism malfunctioning before the cleaning program drowned me, ala Hal 9000.

I have used them when I had to, but they always made me feel claustrophobic.

anon1972 said :

OK….even if they were designed to stop gay men having sex in them, can someone explain to me how that could be a bad thing?

Because they are toilets and should be used as such. There is an expression “Get a room” and I think it applies here.

Public sex is seldom pretty, IMO.

There was a view, backed by research as I recall, that police spent considerable resources effectively entrapping and charging homosexuals engaged in public sex. The same was not true of heterosexual public sex – such couples were generally just cautioned and sent on their way.

If society is going to enforce no public sex, then everyone must be treated equally under the law.

OK….even if they were designed to stop gay men having sex in them, can someone explain to me how that could be a bad thing?

I seem to recall hearing the same claim. It’s something to do with the timer mechanism on the toilets (I think – someone correct me if I’m wrong) – they disallowed the loo to be locked indefinitely – they would automatically open after a set amount of time. Bad news if you’re constipated, I guess.

The toilets used open of their own volition, although after repeated verbal warnings, after a set period of being ‘engaged’

I would think they were more to manage out the homeless.

R. Slicker said :

Many people might not know that these toilets were originally developed with the main aim of stopping men using them for sex. They were sold to councils and instrumentalities around Australia (including Brendan Smyth as Minister for Urban Services at the time) with the promise that they were “gay-proof”. What a pity a pathetic exercise in homophobia has now created a whole new set of problems.

Interesting claim but sounds like bollocks… your evidence?

They have these loos in… Campbelltown… and the council manages to keep them working and in good condition besides having a very large crime population.

Many people might not know that these toilets were originally developed with the main aim of stopping men using them for sex. They were sold to councils and instrumentalities around Australia (including Brendan Smyth as Minister for Urban Services at the time) with the promise that they were “gay-proof”. What a pity a pathetic exercise in homophobia has now created a whole new set of problems.

at the end of the day, it’s a public toilet. to quote sentiment popular film Minority Report – “there’s no escaping your destiny”

The problem? Not following what every other city does.

As we all know Canberra (whether one views it as good or bad) has tight restrictions on public advertising. Most other cities contract the building and maintenance of the ‘super-loos’ to a private company that in return get the side of said ‘super-loos’ for some advertising etc.

Although we now have some rather shiny-useless-when-there’s-a-wind bus shelters born from the aforementioned concept, I’m the Vogons are thinking very hard about our super-poo-loos.

seriously…….

They used to play music, really. It was like that weird Japanese elevator music but sort of sci-fi. I did not believe my other half when he came back to us in the park after using one. So, the kids and I all traipsed up to the loos to have a listen, that is when the kids fell in love with the funky toilets.

Now the kids (boys thankfully) just pee on a tree. When you have to wade through the urine and there is no music, all the toilet fun is gone.

I have always found them vaguely scary, so I have hardly ever used them.

Toilets that smell like piss? Thats what you get when wimmin hover: no respect for others.

Public toilets that smell like piss?!?!? This is a sick, sick world.

OMG Music? i’ve used a few of them i never knew that they had music in them, all the ones that i have been in in the civic area have no music in them

The one in tuggeranong town park is like that too..grafittied, no music, and smells like piss.

The ones next to the sea scouts in Tuggeranong are no better. They have been forgotten about by everyone except the vandals !
And now the government has to send a worker every morning and night time to lock them to stop the vandals from destroying them !!

And they smell like urine

Sigh, yes. When my children were smaller they were desperately in love with the funky toilets at the Gordon adventure park. That was until some idiot blew one up with a home made bomb one night. Now the funky toilets don’t play any music at all. And they smell like urine.

complexity is rarely viable in un-supervised systems in the long term.

the brick sh*thouse didn’t become proverbial for no reason and bears consideration in this context.