Welcome to the next installment of “weird but true” – unusual facts and stats uncovered by RL&A staff in the course of research for our clients.
As many of you know, RL&A specializes in OTC brand health and beauty PR, which means that we know a lot about some very sensitive topics of a personal nature. This month we are highlighting statistics from a survey conducted with Harris Interactive for Cystex that focuses on public restrooms – something that women with UTIs know a lot about!
Have you ever thought twice about answering nature’s call while out? If so, don’t worry, as you are not alone, since 99% of Americans say they use public restrooms, and nearly half (48%) of us use them without hesitation. The rest of the cautionary members of the public only use them in dire emergencies (30%), while 25% only use ones that they know are safe and clean because they have tried them before.
Cleanliness matters when using public restrooms: 62% have reported walking in and walking right back out because they thought it was too dirty. Women (70%) are much more likely to do this than men (54%). And once you are inside the decisions don’t stop there, as we have all experienced walking into a stall where the person before us has left a gift. What to do on these occasions is pretty well a split decision, as slightly more than half (54%) will turn around and leave, while the rest of us give in to nature’s call and stay put.
So where are the worst public restrooms? Topping the list according to the Cystex survey, is the highway gas station with more than a third of all people saying they will just drive on by, preferring to not use them. Others – more than half of adults — say they like to sneak into restaurants or other establishments to use the restroom. The moral of this effort: prepare wisely next time you leave home and map out your bathroom route in advance – just in case, or, if of course you have a UTI. And for those of us whose bathroom “issues” go beyond what we covered in our survey, just join the other 16% who simply go home when nature calls.
Come back next month as we expand your mind with more weird but true facts.