🧻 The end of public restrooms

There are few things worse than having to hold it.

Unfortunately, your chance of finding a public restroom in many American cities has been falling for years, and recent news suggests it could get worse.

Starbucks, which opened its restrooms to non-paying visitors in 2018, may be reverting its policy, per Bloomberg.

Starbucks…

… isn’t the first private establishment to be known for its lavatory. The US has a long legacy of businesses using restrooms as a selling point, including:

• Saloons, which were one of the most reliable places for men to relieve themselves in the 19th century, as long as they bought a pint.
• Department stores, which made clean restrooms for women a selling point in the late 19th century after realizing there were few facilities dedicated to women.
• Gas stations, which became a popular restroom destination with the advent of the automobile.

But it raises the question — why do we rely on private businesses for restrooms in the first place?

It’s complicated

Public restrooms experienced a boom in the early 20th century due in part to Prohibition, as some feared that shutting down saloons would result in a toilet shortage.

But several factors slowed momentum:

• High costs: Early 20th-century public restrooms (or “comfort stations”) were built with high ceilings and ornate tiles to give the image of high sanitation standards, but also made for expensive upkeep.
• Suburban flight: As Americans left cities for the ‘burbs after World War II, the focus shifted to highway rest stops.
• Safety concerns: In the 1960s and ‘70s, public restrooms became known for violence and drug use, leading many cities to shut off access.

So, what now?

Starbucks is still a viable option, you may just have to purchase something. If you’re against spending to pee…

• The Portland Loo, based in Oregon, is an affordable, single-user public toilet designed to deter crime. It’s also been installed in Denver, Cincinnati, and San Antonio.

BTW: For the New York City folk, this TikTok account reviews free bathrooms in the Big Apple so you know where to go, when you gotta go.

Every millennial has heard some variation of this myth: “Can’t afford a house? Just stop buying lattes.”

It’s peppered all over Twitter, dispensed on personal finance blogs, and uttered by pundits on national television.

• Sometimes, “latte” is exchanged for a different millennial trope, like avocado toast.

The idea that fewer lattes can solve financial woes has been around for more than 20 years and can be traced to one man: a financial adviser named David Bach.

Ever since Bach asked if you’re “latte-ing away your future” in a 1999 book, we’ve witnessed a dot-com crash, a Great Recession, a global pandemic, a housing shortage, 40-year-high inflation, and the massive growth of student debt.

And yet, despite broader affordability issues at play, the latte is still a flashpoint for arguments about personal finance. How did we get here?

If you’ve ever been to a conference, you probably got a branded tote bag filled with branded swag: T-shirts, keychains, mini-flashlights, water bottles, etc. (Shwaaaag, as Russ Hanneman would say.)

SwagUp founder Michael Martocci told The Information that his average customer spends ~$25k annually on swag, while larger companies can drop millions.

But what happens to it all if a company fails?

Well, it depends

Most items are trashed or donated. But if it could be seen as a historical artifact or a collector’s item, it might fetch a high price.

• Christina Warren collects swag from companies that ended disastrously. She told NPR that she prizes her Fyre Festival T-shirt, but she’s hoping for something authentic from Theranos.

But she’s not alone — a Theranos pullover sold on eBay for $499. (Too much? There’s this Theranos water bottle for $220.)

Beyond startups

To sell merch immediately following the Super Bowl, the NFL prints T-shirts, hats, and other items celebrating both teams’ victories. Through a partnership with nonprofit Good360, the NFL donates the loser’s stuff to countries where people need clothing.

After a failed political campaign, materials that can’t be repurposed for future runs end up in storage, the trash, or, again, in other countries, per The New York Times. Like startups, it depends on the context.

Mitt Romney 2012 hats were shipped off to Kenya. But Steve Ferber, VP of Lori Ferber Collectibles, told the NYT that buttons from socialist Eugene V. Debs’ 1920 campaign can sell for up to $1k.

BTW: Love dead companies and products? The Museum of Failure highlights those that failed to flourish, like these Nike sunglasses that required you to glue magnets to your face.