cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/38101225

Imagine this: you walk into a public restroom in China, but instead of just grabbing toilet paper… you have to scan a QR code and watch an ad first 😅. Only then will the machine dispense a tiny sheet of tissue. Don’t feel like watching? You can also pay 0.5 RMB (about $0.07) for a bit more paper 💸. This system is designed to cut down waste — some people would abuse free paper before. Now, it’s all about “watch an ad or pay a coin.” Would you sit through an ad for free toilet paper, or just drop the 0.5 yuan? 👀 . . .

Source: China Insider on Instagram.

Comments
  • hddsx@lemmy.caEnglish
    271·
    19 hours ago

    Bring your own toilet paper?

    Also China public bathrooms smell like absolute crap I have no idea why. I had to pee in China and walked into a public bathroom on the side of the road. I almost puked

    • CubitOom@infosec.pubEnglish
      17·
      19 hours ago

      Yeah, most people in china already bring their own. The only time I’ve ever seen it offered for free was in a crazy high end shopping mall.

    • perishthethought@piefed.socialEnglish
      181·
      19 hours ago

      Many are just ‘squatty potties’ - is a hole in the floor and a tank below.

      And yah, tourists are told to bring TP already since some bathrooms don’t have any.

      😶

      • hddsx@lemmy.caEnglish
        7·
        19 hours ago

        What do you mean by a tank below? For flushing or…?

        All the squatty potties I encountered in Asia were plumbed the way a toilet in the US would be plumbed so the poop gets flushed elsewhere.

        I hope the ones in China weren’t basically permanent porta potties….

        • perishthethought@piefed.socialEnglish
          7·
          16 hours ago

          It really varies. I just did a big tour of China in June and we saw many fancy, futuristic toilets in malls and hotels. We saw somewhat stinky but otherwise clean public toilets at parks and such. And we came across a couple of holes in the floor with a septic tank below ground, exposed to the air - and no TP provided. Those are rare now, from what I saw. (Septic tank was the word I couldn’t think of before) I’m no plumber though so I may be getting that word wrong still.

        • perishthethought@piefed.socialEnglish
          3·
          15 hours ago

          Ha! :) I never heard that before but that does make sense. I remember my American grandma hoarded supplies like this her whole life, long after the lean depression-era years she lived through. Every single pencil was used down to the nub. We got a serious talking-to if we tossed a milk bottle with more than a drop left in it.