TheLastManInAmerica

They look like they belong on the Death Star, imposing steel doors that slide open when they sense someone outside. And when they open up they reveal a restroom that is somewhere between a Four Seasons’ commode and a prison crapper; nice tile floors and steel toilet with no seat. And when you finish “draining the lizard” or “dropping the kids at the pool,” the high-tech lavatory cleans itself as soon as you walk out.

The City of Atlanta has dropped $1.5 million on these toilets to help the homeless and others who can’t find a restroom, a move some are questioning in the middle of an economic crisis. The city defends the purchase however, saying the money was a grant and completely seperate from the general funds for Atlanta.

I laugh because I know exactly where this is going to lead. Here in Seattle a few years ago, the city bought five of these toilets at a staggering $500,000 apiece while costing $700,000 a year to maintain. But when the toilets became havens for prostitues and junkies, the city decided to do away with them, putting them up for auction on eBay. In all the city spent $5 million on the crappers and sold them for roughly $12,000.

So yeah, way-to-go Atlanta! You pretty much just used that grant money as toilet paper.