Don't pee on me, bro.

November 2, 2014 12:17 AM

"The psychology behind why (the God tiles) work is complex. It could be a combination of fearing the wrath of God (especially when one’s pants are down, or even just open) and wanting to seem RC (religiously correct)... I’ve since learned that god tiles aren’t only deployed to stop public urination. In some office buildings, for example, god tiles have been installed in stairways to keep people (OK, mostly men) from spitting on walls. They’ve also been used to prevent people from throwing garbage in certain places."
posted by miss lynnster (14 comments total)

If these tiles are indeed effective in deterring public urination (solid evidence of their success is difficult to come by, though some seem convinced of their value), could they help discourage other bad behaviors? Imagine installing god tiles on the desk of every politician in parliament to prevent corruption, or in the offices of government servants to ensure that they actually serve.

Googling isn't helping me at the moment, but I could have sworn there was a psych experiment that found that having a simple depiction of large watching eyes, say painted on the wall near a test subject, corresponded with more ethical behaviour to some statistically significant degree above the control group for whatever narrow definition of it that was being tested. Similar principle, I'd guess.
posted by figurant at 12:50 AM on November 2, 2014 [5 favorites]

figurant, you mean these?
Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting
Effects of eye images on everyday cooperative behavior: a field experiment
posted by finka at 1:06 AM on November 2, 2014 [6 favorites]

I've seen shelves on old buildings in London that were (apparently) designed to deter peeing by ensuring the pee would be diverted straight back on to your legs.
posted by Segundus at 2:19 AM on November 2, 2014 [10 favorites]

Well I know that in the Disneyland Hotel the picture of the Mickey Mouse over the toilet made me reluctant to use the john...and the angry Donald Duck over the bed kept me from having sex that weekend.
posted by happyroach at 2:37 AM on November 2, 2014 [4 favorites]

Related: Schiphol fly urinals.
posted by Wet Spot at 3:36 AM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Re fly urinals
Conversation with wife.
ME: did you know that urinals have flies painted on them so you don't splash everywhere when peeing?
WIFE: but why?
ME: Dunno. Guess it's good to PEE ON THE FLY (last wording said in squeaky voice)

WIFE: ? That makes no sense
ME: because PEE ON THE FLY!
WIFE: hunh?
ME: because PEEONTHEFLY


(repeat last two sentences until dissolving in laughter and actual peeing occurs)
posted by lalochezia at 4:57 AM on November 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the janitors as useful.
posted by fleetmouse at 5:11 AM on November 2, 2014 [3 favorites]

Victorian urinals can have a bee rather than a fly, because the Latin for bee is apis. They liked their Latin puns, those Victorian gentlemen.
posted by Devonian at 6:01 AM on November 2, 2014 [12 favorites]

I could have sworn there was a psych experiment

Would the intrinsic body embarrassment of white upper class sophomores shed any light at all on the cultural behavior of males with painful bladders on the other side of the world?
posted by sammyo at 6:12 AM on November 2, 2014

Men, it seems, prefer to have something solid to relieve themselves against—perhaps for the reassurance that they’re not merely pissing into the wind.

It splashes way more if you just pee on the ground, compared to peeing against something.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:30 AM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

It seems like the shelves could be easily defeated by simply aiming off to the side.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:43 AM on November 2, 2014

It seems like the shelves could be easily defeated by simply aiming off to the side.

Peeing on your friend's feet is a feature, not a bug.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:57 AM on November 2, 2014 [3 favorites]

the angry Donald Duck over the bed

Reminds me of this scene from Babylon 5.
posted by and for no one at 7:38 PM on November 2, 2014

In Japan they have these little shrine gates at the end of subway platforms, apparently to dissuade drunk salarymen from peeing there. I don't know if that is the actual reason or just what misinformed foreigners think.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 10:51 AM on November 3, 2014