And I also remember slithering under a stall door to avoid paying the potty fee. Pay toilets were the norm at airports and many other public places. It was nice to have them gone.

GAWD, I feel ... OLD!

They are quite common in Europe as well.

In the Middle East, you could usually find a free one in the lobby of a better hotel, but you still needed to bring your own buttwipe or be prepared to do some serious work with the hose, depending upon what you were there for....

If there was an attendant, a few tomans went on the tip plate, presumably for service as a door guard, or something.

I remember in Germany having to use the loo and pulling into a restaurant, I had to buy a "coupon" to use the toilet. I purchased and used and on my way out tossed the coupon into the trash. It was not until I got in line to purchase some thing I discovered that you could redeem you coupon as part of any purchase. So not so bad, if your only going to use their water, soap and paper you pay a small fee, if however you purchase anything you can get your fee back. I am certain that if I could read or speak German that all of this information was posted, but I don't and I needed a toilet so paid the fee.

Unbelievable fixtures, stalls that went floor to ceiling and you could hold a small dance in...! Attendants at attention with fine linens upon which to wipe your washed and scented fingers! An array of accoutrements to ensure that your appearance was tip-top before exiting the facility! This one was in Zurich, and I came out of there googly-eyed. It was like something out of an MGM movie!

Of course, I was coming from a place where the toilet norm was a "bomb site" so this was real culture shock for me!

In Germany this sort of coupon-fee is used in restrooms of Autobahn service areas, railway stations, and airports.
Most other restaurants have free access.

from Munich Octoberfest

Paying to use a goddamn toilet is inhumane.

I remember how everyone would cram a bunch of toilet paper in the locking mechanism so that it would not click shut. I remember how everyone would hold the door open for the next person, so that places with a lot of people in lines would get the first coin of the day and that was it. I remember that it cost a dime and you always kept a dime with you for either the phone or the pay toilet. Wow, a dime then would mean we would be paying about $.75 for a potty today. Wow. Ah, the good old days.

I remember them at Woolworths, but they were on the way out when I was a teen.

Today, you just have to find the right employee and beg for a key or follow them back to be let in. Degrading, but free. But I presume the effect is the same: f you're a smelly homeless person who doesn't spend money at the establishment, you'll be shown the door.

dont quote me on that.

I was born in 1970 and I remember them so it would have to be after 1976 or so.

I worked in an airport that had them.

I agree they're outrageous. Dunno if they still exist. Toilets and drinking fountains are basic human needs so can only be thought of as rights.

And I remember our local department store had them. It cost 10¢. I hade 3 brothers and we would take turns making sure the door didn't close in order to pay again for it. That would have been 1988 I think.

"Our end is our own elimination."

No using the lav until you first swipe your credit card. It's the one potential profit center the airlines haven't yet explored.

And I distinctly recall a pay toilet situation at the Rainforest Cafe at Disney World back in the mid 90s. An attendant stood at the door and collected something like 50 cents. I was incensed, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.

and was met with great outrage and opprobrium.

in Santa Barbara is a pay toilet, so either laws have been repealed or are being ignored. That pay toilet is clearly aimed at keeping the local homeless popuation out. It 's cruel.

I wish we had them here.

Permanently staffed, (I hope with a well-paid attendant), scrupulously clean, always functional and always open. An amazing experience for someone used to "Restroom for customers ONLY!" America...

One of my pet hates is those people who silently watch you urinating and then judge you because you happen not to have a dollar bill.

(in Germany, they are the Offentlisches WC) are paid a salary from public funds. No tipping. Just like most of the rest of Europe.

I used a WC a couple of times. The attendant was a woman. None of the men using the facility cared. She was doing her job. She went back and forth in the place, keeping it clean, filling the towel dispenser, etc. Guys came it, did their thing, and left. No problem. It was like the most natural thing in the world.

ahahaha, I was never a fan of S.P., but that's hilarious.

...In America.

Also known as The Birch John Society.

God forbid you be in the city, and need a bathroom quickly. They are far, and few between. It amazes me how few stores have a bathroom you can use now, and the ones that do you are locked, and you need to find the key.