If you’re currently living in San Francisco and considering urinating in public, you might want to hold it.
In an attempt to clean up the city and spend less money, San Francisco is beginning to coat lower portions of their city walls with pee resistant paint. Yes, you read that correctly. Public urination is such a problem in popular San Francisco bar areas that the city spends $14 million annually steam-cleaning the streets, according to San Francisco news organization News 10. If that wasn’t enough to gross you out, they are trying to curb the problem with paint that will splash back at anybody that attempts public urination.
San Francisco borrowed this idea from Hamburg, Germany where they have these quaint little neon signs that illuminate where it will sprinkle if you happen to tinkle. The paint is designed to bounce back the splash in the direction it came from, so those relieving themselves will end up splashing themselves too. In San Francisco though, the signs simply say, “Hold it! This wall is not a public restroom. Please respect San Francisco and seek relief in an appropriate place,” which doesn’t convey the message that you will essentially be peeing on yourself. They probably thought the flashing neon sign was a little too crass, but we’re sure public urinators will catch on quickly.
[Featured Image Credit: City Lab]