A new website finds all the toilets in a particular U.S. city or zip code, thanks to Web developers working for the anti-diarrheal drug Imodium. Bathroom Finder lists the public johns on a map and in a scrolling list.
Digital Journal — Let’s say you’re about to embark on an evening filled with Mexican buffet food and tequila shots. And let’s say you’re someone prone to taking the Cleveland Browns to the Super Bowl when your stomach starts to rumble deep. Where do you find a bathroom? Now you can plan where to access a public toilet using a new online map listing available public bathrooms in every U.S. zip code.
The Bathroom Finder site was created by Imodium, the pharmaceutical company known for its anti-diarrheal medicine. Its latest and most innovative Web 2.0 initiative allows anyone to search for bathrooms in the U.S. simply by entering a city or zip code at its user-friendly site.
For example, inputting the New York zip code 10018 pulled up 27 bathrooms in the area, listed in a right-hand column and dotted on a detailed map as well. Now I know I can always visit Europa Café on 1412 Broadway in case an enchilada didn’t sit well in my belly.
Then again, the Bathroom Finder site doesn’t let you know if non-customers can visit the bathroom no problem. As many people realize, some businesses only allow customers to use their facilities.
This site is a good start. It would be ideal to see user ratings next to each bathroom, so people can know about the venue’s cleanliness and accessibility. That’s the rub of having a corporation run a site like this – Imodium decides what bathrooms to list, as opposed to visitors. If Bathroom Finder became a user-generated site, the hits would skyrocket and intrepid diners with weak stomachs would clamour to this one-stop toilet directory.
In the meantime, find a bathroom near you, if only to know where to relieve yourself when you’re stranded on city streets.
