Handicap people are gross or something.

[Der Cute]

I was on a forum somewhere else, and a poster had written "wow the thing was flashing so much I could have caught epilepsy"

Was a bit peeved, since that one isn't exactly transmittable.

[Andara Bledin]

I was on a forum somewhere else, and a poster had written "wow the thing was flashing so much I could have caught epilepsy"

I... I would likely have mocked them... but in a light, jesting manner.

^-.-^

[Der Cute]

I... I would likely have mocked them... but in a light, jesting manner.

^-.-^

I didn't want to be a schmuck. Oh, and the other day someone else commented "this monitor's turning on and off, it's annoying, I might have a seizure." very offhanded.

I try to not get offended by these remarks against E. I was only slightly miffed. Figured it was a bit of joke, so wrote it off in my head. But obviously I still remember it.

Grr.

Cutenoob

[Andara Bledin]

Oh, I wouldn't have mocked them for the comment about epilepsy, except that they mentioned catching it. 'Cause it's not something you can catch.

But the whole flashing thing is something to worry about.

I was at my regular gaming convention, working in the video gaming room (before I started helping to run the room) and some guy that was watching a couple of people play Bloody Roar 2 dropped to the floor in a seizure.

He later remarked that he knew something was wrong when he found himself on the floor looking up into the face of the paramedic. He'd never had a seizure before, and there wasn't a history of epilepsy in his family.

For those who have never seen the game, it's a 3D fighter (like Tekken) where the characters have both a human form and a transformed beast form. When you shift into beast form the screen strobes very briefly for the transformation. In this particular instance, both players had transformed at almost the same time, and the combination of the strobes are what set the guy off.

^-.-^

[Seshat]

I love handicap restrooms - I have very broad shoulders, to the point that in normal stalls I sometimes hit the toilet paper dispensers. But the handicap stalls are nice and spacious, and the toilet itself is often more ergonomic.

My hips are broad (iliac crest to iliac crest - ie, the widest points of the pelvic bone. Not exactly something I can diet to change!)

Anyway. My hips are broad, and in some stalls, when I sit down, my butt is jammed up against the menstrual supplies disposal unit. NOT the most hygenic thing.

Also, for those of you who use the handicap bathroom because the higher seat and the rails make it easier to get up slowly (and thus not collapse into a faint): that's part of the reason to HAVE those bathrooms.
(Note: there are home modifications you can have, too. Raised toilet seats, grab rails, etc.)


I do give preference to wheelchair users, since they absolutely cannot use a normal bathroom and I can. But otherwise I have no qualms about using a handicap bathroom. (Odd, that.)

[Cazzi]

I was on a forum somewhere else, and a poster had written "wow the thing was flashing so much I could have caught epilepsy"

Reminds of years ago when I started college. I'd spent the summer & some other holidays volunteering to help at a centre for the mentally disadvantaged.
It was amazing the amount of college students who asked if I was afraid of catching something.... & looked puzzled when I said I was just as like to catch a cold at college as I was at the centre.

Guess they thought the disabilities were catching

[Andara Bledin]

Anyway. My hips are broad, and in some stalls, when I sit down, my butt is jammed up against the menstrual supplies disposal unit. NOT the most hygenic thing.

That reminds me of the stalls at the hotel my local gaming convention was at, hopefully for the last time ever.

It was hard to use them because some genius had put the toilet paper dispensers and feminine hygiene disposal boxes on the closer wall in every single stall!

I don't think even a thin woman would be able to sit comfortably, and certainly not anyone who had even moderate curves.

^-.-^

[EricKei]

when I sit down, my butt is jammed up against the ...thingy.... NOT the most hygenic thing.

I don't think even a thin woman would be able to sit comfortably, and certainly not anyone who had even moderate curves.

I've really never understood that facet of bathroom design, whether public rooms or ones in houses.

Lessee...Just to throw out some random numbers, and assume one larger than most you might find in an apartment (if my numbers are just THAT bad):

Length (assume full bath): 10-12m

Width: 3-4m

Reasonably spacious, but not really huge...Big enough to allow two people to use the sink(s) at once without trampling one another.

Clearance between toilet and the basin/shelf, as well as toilet <> tub, can be measured in centimeters; between the toilet and the TP roll, in millimeters.

Size of actual toilet seat: Don't even get me started.

Assuming that it was designed for someone who does NOT need the rails, why not space things out more? o_O If we really need THAT much open space between us and the far wall, why not side-to-side? Even if rails/a handy shelf were not needed in my case, I'd still push it back a good bit more than that...If the need for rails were known at construction time, I'd have those close by, but not "interference close" taken into account at that time.

[Andara Bledin]

I've really never understood that facet of bathroom design, whether public rooms or ones in houses.

We're speaking of public bathroom facilities with stalls. Those are the only ones I've ever seen with the little disposal bins. Regular bathrooms (either full room bathrooms that are public access or in rooms) tend to have actual waste baskets for disposal of waste so don't need those attached to the wall.

^-.-^

[telecom_goddess]

Also, for those of you who use the handicap bathroom because the higher seat and the rails make it easier to get up slowly (and thus not collapse into a faint): that's part of the reason to HAVE those bathrooms.
(Note: there are home modifications you can have, too. Raised toilet seats, grab rails, etc.)

Yeah they do and there is a walgreens down the the street from me that probably has those things. However the counter in my bathroom is sufficient.

Good to know that I'm at least slightly entitled to use the handicapped stall

[AccountingDrone]

I think one of the main problems is MEN tend to be the architects of public buildings and don't like to take a crap in a public restroom, so they really don't tend to think of the ergonomics of female toilet stalls. Then, the crew who do the install are generally all male and they also don't think, and just follow the install instructions from the male architect.

One of the problems with public building designs is the refusal to allot enough space for ample space in bathrooms because they want to cram in more office space for the rents. Did you know that on one of the cad architecture programs I was playing with last year a non-wheelchair handicapped stall was only 5 feet x 5 feet? And most normal stalls are 5 feet x 3 feet?

I would love to have the ability to actually force a change in zoning laws with respect to bathrooms ...

[Andara Bledin]

Then there's the fact that to have even distribution of use, you need more facilities for women, but you have to have the same amount for each for equality or something.

Yay, progress.

^-.-^

[Seshat]

Guess they thought the disabilities were catching

You'd be surprised how many people think this.

Now, *some* disabilities are... kind of. Polio-created disabilities are caused by a communicable disease. Of course, once the person has recovered from the disease, they're no longer infectious. But still disabled.

But communicable disabilities are the rare sort in the modern era. Thankfully!

Good to know that I'm at least slightly entitled to use the handicapped stall

If there are facilities in the handicapped stall that there aren't in the normal stall, and which will help keep you from fainting/falling/otherwise exacerbating a condition; yes you are.

[Eisa]

I always feel guilty about using the handicapped stall. Like I'm not "handicapped enough." Never mind I really am, even if it doesn't "show" all that much.

[Lace Neil Singer]

In this one shop, I always use the disabled toilet for the simple reason that it's a) always well stocked with loo roll, b) very spacious (the regular ladies loos are so cramped, you'd be hardpressed to find room to swing a gerbil, let alone a cat) and c), there's never a queue. XD I'm always surprised that I'm the only person who thinks to bypass a queue by doing this; the last time, this girl pushing a buggy said to me as I emerged, "We can use that loo?" I said yeah, so she did. It was easily big enough for her and her buggy, too.