Photo special: toilets & disabled toilet

This sign - spotted in the Green Dragon pub in Croydon, London - amuses me greatly, but no one else I've pointed it out to has had the same reaction:

An internal door, signed toilets and disabled toilet

The disabled toilet is itself a toilet (I presume), so this door should be signed simply 'toilets' or 'all toilets'. However one of my friends pointed out that such a sign would not indicate that there was a disabled toilet on the premises, and I fear he has a point.

So a correct sign would have to read 'toilets (including disabled toilet)', which is just ridiculous. I can understand why the Green Dragon has opted for the wording shown in the photo.

And as I recall, the Green Dragon's toilets are through the door and then down a flight of stairs - not so handy for disabled people.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My dictionary says disabled means 'having a physical or mental condition that limits their movements, senses or activities'. Does that apply to the toilet too, if it's a disabled toilet? Might it have limited movements or activities? Problems with the flush perhaps? Or the lowering of the seat?

Unknown said...

I think I had the same reaction as anonymous, not the same reaction as you, JD. In my mind, a disabled toilet would be one that had difficulty flushing or some other problem. In the US, we would just a disability symbol on the door.

Unknown said...

Speaking of disabled toilets and stairs, I just say this.

Editrix said...

I'm with anonymous and jon boy on this one. For a split second, I had this horrible vision of toilets overflowing everywhere, flushing constantly, and making strange, clinking noises.

JD (The Engine Room) said...

So I take it you don't have 'male toilets' and 'female toilets' in the US either?

Unknown said...

Usually they're just labeled "men" and "women" or some such. Perhaps "men's restroom" and "women's restroom." But I guess "male toilet" is fine if you assume that it refers to the room and not to the plumbing fixtures themselves.