N.J. Women Join Legislature, Wait In Line To Piss

A bunch of women were voted into office last Tuesday in New Jersey, with a record 34 slated to come into the legislature come January. Somehow, this led to a long bathroom line at Thursday’s legislative session. (N.J. doesn’t inaugurate its assemblywomen right away; the session included old and new members.)

Anyway: Everybody went to the bathroom at the same time — were they watching a basketball game or something? — and yet they were excited to be in line, though seven assemblywomen did wet their pants. According to the Associated Press, the new female members will apparently care more about women’s issues than their male colleagues. They will also get the chance to prove they can govern just as poorly as men do.

Ha Ha Edward Albee Doesn’t Wash His Hands

You may not be as good of a playwright as Edward Albee. Albee wrote Oklahoma! and his magnum opus Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which is about being afraid of having to read Virginia Woolf in English class. It was considered scandalous in 1860 or whenever it was written but now contains less sexual content than your average Wiggles concert.

Albee was in town for the opening of the Suzanne Roberts Theatre and Dan Gross saw him not wash his hands:

The folks eager to shake hands with legendary playwright Edward Albee, who delivered remarks about his old friend [Terrence] McNally, after the performance may not have known that Albee skipped the sink after paying a visit to the urinal, as we witnessed firsthand.

So, yeah, you may not have written The American Dream, but at least you wash your hands.

Stars shine at theater opening [Daily News, 2nd item]
Oct. 18: Seeking Solutions With Suzanne’s Signature

Kids Learn Important Pissing Lessons

Classes started yesterday in the public schools in Philadelphia, and the kids are already learning important life lessons:

As the school year opened at Logan Elementary in Philadelphia yesterday morning, teacher Jeneen Crawford, as one of her first tasks, reviewed with her second-grade pupils the rules for good behavior when visiting the bathroom.

“Do not scream out the window,” one student said, getting a nod of approval from Crawford.

“Do not go on the floor,” said another.

“Don’t pee out the window,” added a third.

They were also told not to take a wide stance in the lavatory; you just don’t know if there’s an officer in the stall next to you.

Adding rules to the three R’s [Inquirer]

Gee, I Wonder How People Got The Idea This Place Might Be A Good Place To Cruise

Today’s Daily Pennsylvanian brings the story of the Stiteler Hall bathroom, which, who woulda thunk it, is on the Cruisingforsex.com list of places where gay men can hook up.

Whatever. It’s a bathroom at a college — chances are there could be some gay sex there. Penn has responded by monitoring the Stiteler Hall bathroom, and the comments section has exploded on the DP’s website telling the writer he’s a bad journalist. (Sigh.)

But here’s the fun part (emphasis mine):

Norma Bottomer, a custodian who has worked in Stiteler Hall for more than a year, said University officials asked her to erase graffiti announcing sexual messages and meeting times from the men’s bathroom in the building’s basement late last summer. [...]

Jennifer Bottomley, the manager for the second floor of Stiteler Hall, said police officials informed her that activity had occurred in the area during the summer but did not provide her with any details.

Peter Topp could not be reached for comment.

Sex in Stiteler? [DP]
Photo by Nika

Leftovers: Borgata’s Boffo Bathroom

• Let’s give a round of applause to the Borgata, which was voted as having the fourth best restroom in America. The worst restroom in America? Well, we’ll leave that question to the philosophers. [BestRestroom.com]

• Fortunately, police have arrested a man who they say shot a man for getting ready to testify against a man who allegedly killed his cousin. [Metro]

• A powdery substance exploded in Kensington, sickening a city worker. Turns out it was a substance found in fire extinguishers. [CBS 3]

• The Delco SPCA cat euthanasia scandal intensifies, as charges are filed! Whoo! [AP/6 ABC]

• President Bush? Oh, he said he invented the iPod. Well, not really, but he did say this: “[T]he government funded research in microdrive storage, electrochemistry and signal compression. They did so for one reason: It turned out that those were the key ingredients for the development of the iPod.” Tee hee. [Engadget]

Blogicized: Dream a little dream

• You know you spend too much time in the city when you start having dreams about SEPTA. [The Trouble with Spikol]

• In a non-dream situation, here’s a story about being stuck in the bathroom when the doorknob fell off. This happened to me once. MacGyver-like, however, I managed to jimmy the lock open with a Q-tip. No, really. [Starting a Landslide in My Ego]

• When two people in, say, a marriage both work they earn, on average, twice what one person earns! Who knew? CJR investigates. [Slacktivist]

• And, finally, here’s some commentary on the Philadelphia murder rate, though this is a novel of a piece, so be sure to grab a Snickers or something beforehand. [Classical Values]