Sign in a Chinese Men’s Room

at work 010.jpg

This was sent to me by a reader who swears it’s for real (click to enlarge, but the Chinese is still hard to read – it’s the diagram that says it all). Is it possible?

And on that note, I am departing for a much anticipated trip home in about 18 hours, so expect a few days of radio silence. Happy pre-Holidays.

The Discussion: 15 Comments

The sign is kosher; I’ve seen the same myself, although I can’t remember in exactly which establishment.

December 22, 2007 @ 12:59 am | Comment

Reminds me of the Chinese urinal signs that read “One small step in front of the urinal, a giant step for civilization.”

December 22, 2007 @ 1:21 am | Comment

Sadly, signs like this are necessary, even in cities like Beijing. But, will they make a difference?

December 22, 2007 @ 3:22 am | Comment

My favorite Chinese bathroom sign – “No Defecating” – in English.

December 22, 2007 @ 5:23 am | Comment

Maybe we’ll soon see the Chinese equivalent of “Please don’t throw cigarette butts in our urinal and we won’t pee in your ashtray!”

December 22, 2007 @ 10:58 am | Comment

While I haven’t traveled all that much, (only 7 or 8 countries) men worldwide need a swift kick in the balls for missing the mark.

December 22, 2007 @ 7:30 pm | Comment

Even though this isn’t my picture, It looks like one I took a few years ago. It is in the Intel plant in Waigaoqiao outside of Shanghai. Got to love a plant full of engineers.

December 23, 2007 @ 8:55 am | Comment

Actually, now that I looked closer, the sign directly above says ‘Intel Zizhu Campus’. That’s outside of Shanghai too, just down south.

December 23, 2007 @ 8:57 am | Comment

Erm it is not just that. I have seen guys peeing quite deliberately *next* to the urinal, against the wall.
I think it is something to do with the fact that in the old days such things did not exist, so people just can’t imagine not peeing against the wall.
However there is also a subspecies of homo that has never actually looked at their thingy when peeing so in fact they have absolutely no clue about where they are peeing.
this is the only possible answer when you see some cavernous urinal that is physically impossible to miss, with a large pool of pee all around it. I have not see people pee at a distance into the urinal. Just lots of people without a proper peeing licence 😛

December 27, 2007 @ 10:16 pm | Comment

You can see a photo of the urinal sign mentioned by Matthew here (靠近一小步,文明一大步).

This one was taken at a KFC in Tianjin, but I’ve seen it at a gas station in a more rural area along the freeway, and somewhere else I can’t remember.

December 28, 2007 @ 3:54 pm | Comment

whoa, the han zi didn’t come through. sorry about that.

December 28, 2007 @ 3:56 pm | Comment

How about sign in top of automatically flushing urinal: “Remember to flush after use”? 🙂

December 28, 2007 @ 6:59 pm | Comment

Sinasource, why do you keep coming back here to insult me? What do you want?

Richard

December 29, 2007 @ 4:47 pm | Comment

SinaSource, have you seen my posts about trying to learn Chinese, about the hours i spend at it, about the number of characters I’ve learned, about the shift from traditional to simplified characters? Where have you been. I have always been totally upfront about who I am and always say I know nothing more than any dilettante. Have you seen the legend on my site? About being a dilettante and pseudophilosoher? I am sorry if it bothers you that despite my being so upfront people still come to read my site. I make no claims to anything but ignorance and amateurishness. I know you like to come here and attack me – and it is flattering that you make an appointment nearly every day to do so. I think it’s clear to any observer who your comments say more about. However, I did ask you to leave, and I repeat the request once again. If you feel you have to talk about me so frequently, start your own blog and dedicate it to humiliating and attacking me. It’s been done before, always by the same kind of person who fits your description – snide, trying to de-legitimize my personal blog with its tiny readership, making false claims about who I am and how I present myself. You find me one place where I said I could read and write Chinese fluently. You find me one place where I said I was an authority on China. You find one place – just one, with the link – where I made fraudulent claims about my expertise and knowledge – and then I’ll consider engaging with you. I am waiting. Until then, I say with no reservations that you are a liar, a classic troll, someone with a big obsession who is motivated either by love, jealousy or hatred (some form, in other words, of infatuation), and a very lonely man. I await your next snide remark with no link and no evidence, but a lot of vitriol. Just remember, what a dog can’t eat or fuck it pisses on.

Oh, and SinaSource, here’s an actual link where I am totally upfront about where i stand with my Chinese studies – there are many, many, many, many others on TPD if you care to do your homework And any time you defame friends of mine like Jeremy and Joseph etc., expect to be instantly deleted. This is my site for my opinions. You seem to have a truly warped impression of “freedom of speech.” If I run a Jewish newspaper, I do not have to let Nazi sympathizers use the paper I pay to put out to print their editorials. Free speech means those Nazis have the right to start their own newspaper and say what they want. I have no obligation to give the space I pay for to anyone who wants to come and say whatever they choose, especially when their intentions are far less than honorable.

So like I said, I am waiting for you to post the link where I make any statement whatsoever that is deceptive about who I am. Just one. We’re waiting. Liar.

December 30, 2007 @ 11:42 am | Comment

I saw a special on Discovery or something where they put phosphorescent dye in a toilet and then after a guy peed, they went in and turned on the blacklights and DAYAMN, it was amazing how far the droplets went.

Now, whether or not this will turn you from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde, thats a separate issue for Science altogether. 😉

December 31, 2007 @ 9:06 am | Comment

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