Australians have a name for eccentricity, but the Australian Government has a website that beats all for oddness: the National Public Toilet Map. Was the site designed as some national practical joke? it proudly states that this is a project of the National Continence Management Strategy. It seems Aussies are renowned for incontinence, a natural flow-on from drinking too much beer.
Useful Search Functions of the National Public Toilet Map
Perhaps it’s not as odd as it sounds: Australia has miles of freeways with few stopping places and roads can be busy, discouraging all but the foolhardy or desperate to stop by the roadside for this essential function. Towns are frequently an hour apart, so motorists usually have an eye out for a public toilet (or service station) as they enter a new township.
The map website has a search function allowing the visitor to locate a toilet by town name or postcode. It also has a trip planning function, so that the driver is never far from a public loo. Best of all, there is a browse function for the clinically bored.
FAQs about Public Toilets
The website also has an FAQ section to answer all those questions you always wanted to know. For example: How can I use the National Toilet Map with my GPS device? The site carefully indicates when sunrise and sunset occurs for certain states, as some toilets are only open between sunrise and sunset. It also answers the posers: Who do I contact if I have problems with a toilet and why do opening hours for toilets vary throughout the year? We could perhaps be forgiven for thinking the site’s designer was a little anal retentive!
Perhaps the greatest oddity of all is the FAQ: Is there any way to directly link to the toilets contained in the National Public Toilet Map. The site tell us that, no, hard linking to toilets is discouraged. It seems an unlikely internet activity to pursue, in the first place, but it is good the Australian Government actively discourages it. The site also clarifies that it is not possible to get a printed version of the information, which is a shame as the paper could have been multi-functional.
Toilet Trivia to Dazzle Your Friends
How many people in the world know what an MLAK key is? In fact, the final word is redundant as the acronym means Master Locksmiths Association Key. This key fits specially designed locks and gives the proud possessor 24 hour access to public toilets. Perhaps it is not really a joking matter: anyone with a disability or authorisation from a doctor can purchase such a key.
So, how many public toilets are there in Australia? They total 16878 and they’ve all been mapped for your convenience. The greatest number are in NSW – 4948 and the smallest number – 144 – belongs to the Australian Capital Territory, which has the highest number of politicians.
Do visit this amazing site and see how caring and solicitous of its incontinent citizens the Australian Government is. Of course, the reader might like to log in, register and use the My Toilets facility, which allows you to save your favourite toilets to your hard drive. Next question: how much did this riveting research and website-design cost?
