So, like, have you ever wondered why it’s, like, super hard to find a public toilet when you really gotta go? Back in the day, in the good ol’ U.S. of A., we had tons of toilets that anyone could use. But, like, a lot of them had locks on the doors and you had to, like, drop a coin to get in. Pay toilets created this whole thing where some people could go and others were left holding it in. So, in the swinging 60s, there were movements that popped up to get rid of pay toilets. The problem is: when the pay toilets disappeared, so did a bunch of the free public toilets.
Like, seriously, why are we in a situation where we’re desperate to pee but there’s nowhere to go? This podcast was put together by Willa Rubin with an assist from James Sneed. Marianne McCune did the editing and Cena Loffredo handled the engineering. Sierra Juarez checked all the facts. Our big boss is Alex Goldmark.
If you wanna get more of Planet Money, you can check us out on Facebook, Instagram, or even TikTok. We also have this rad weekly newsletter you can sign up for. You can listen to us for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And hey, if you wanna support us and get access to some bonus episodes, you can subscribe to Planet Money+ on Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
The music in this piece is from Audio Network – they’ve got some sweet tunes like “Smoke Rings,” “Can’t Walk Away,” and “Bright Crystals.” And, like, that’s the story of why it’s such a pain to find a toilet when you really, really need one.
