When Nature Calls

~ Call it what you will: bathroom; toilet; lavatory; loo; restroom; latrine; bog; John; thunder box; the heads; privy; dunny; W.C.; khazi; outhouse; or finally, just the Crapper (after Thomas Crapper, the man who is supposed to have invented the modern toilet). Yes folks, if there is one thing that every traveller has in common, it will be the need to eventually go in search of a public convenience.

And nine times out of ten, you can never find one when you need it most!

Well, rest easy dear reader, relief is at hand. In my relentless quest to help you answer the call of nature, I have tracked down a couple of online resources that can help relieve the pressure when the need is most pressing.

If you are travelling anywhere in Australia, give thanks to the very helpful people at the Australian Department of Health and Ageing, who have produced the National Public Toilet Map, which, believe it or not, is a “Project of the National Continence Management Strategy”.

I feel better already.

The home page for the National Public Toilet Map indicates the site provides locations for over 15,300 public toilets right around Australia, which you can search by post code, suburb, or by entering the name of the town or city you happen to be in.

On a much grander scale is the Sit or Squat website. Yes, that really is its name. Still in development, this site eventually aims to list every public toilet in the world. In the world, people. You need never be caught short again, now that those friendly folks over at Charmin Toilet Paper have teamed up with Sit or Squat to guide you to the nearest relief station.

In fact, as of this writing, the site lists 64,959 public toilets around the world. That represents an awful lot of relief for a lot of potentially desperate travellers, but I’m sure there are tens of thousands more public conveniences that are waiting to be added to the site – so get cracking. Visit the site and see if the public loos in your neighbourhood are listed, and if they are not, add them today.

However, given that technology is involved here, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work as intended.

On a whim, I decided to look at the Sit or Squat toilet suggestions for New York City. Now there’s a town that really knows how to test your limits for bladder control! If it wasn’t for the thousands of cafés, restaurants, Starbucks and McDonald’s outlets, New York’s streets would be awash with… well, never mind... I think you get the idea.

If you walk down 42nd Street towards the Hudson River, you will find yourself between Pier 81 and Pier 83, near where the Intrepid is moored. This area has been extensively redeveloped, and there is a large public toilet block where the Circle Line Ferries tie up. To my surprise, nay, amazement, Sit or Squat did not have this building pinpointed on their site.

Not to worry, the website allows visitors to sign up and add public toilets to the database. So being the good citizen that I am, I signed in and completed the online form with details about the missing loo. To my chagrin, Sit or Squat rejected my entry with a message stating that “the address you entered belongs to an existing toilet.”

“Oh, really?” said I, shouting at the computer, “Then why isn’t pinpointed on your map?”

According to Sit or Squat, the nearest toilets are at the New York Ferry Terminal at 39th Street - four blocks away! A man could get into a whole lot of trouble trying to run four New York City blocks with a full bladder, let me tell you!

Well, at least I tried. To update the information, that is - not run four NYC blocks with a... Oh, never mind!

Undeterred, I entered details for missing toilets on the Esplanade at Semaphore, a short 10 minute walk from home. This time I was successful. So the next time you are in desperate need of a public toilet while relaxing on Semaphore beach, and consult SoS for the nearest WC, you will have me to thank for showing you where it is.

And isn’t that a great relief?

Image: Toilet block at Berry Jerry State Forest, Sturt Highway, (between Wagga Wagga & Nerrandera, NSW)

Amazing Pocket Survival Kit

~ ‘A pocket survival kit that really could save your life!’

One of the many decisions a traveller must make when they are preparing their packing list, is what items to include for those unexpected “what if” moments.

What if the car breaks down? What if you are stuck or stranded in an inaccessible part of the wilderness? What if you twist an ankle or worse? What if…? You get the idea.

So the next question then is, What emergency items can you carry with you, that will not be too bulky, heavy, and impractical?

Thankfully, Doug Ritter has put together an emergency kit that is light, compact, and very practical, and based on years of experience. Doug is the Executive Director of the non profit Equipped to Survive Foundation, and an internationally acknowledged authority on survival equipment and practical survival techniques.

His innovative product reviews, evaluations and articles have helped to revolutionize some aspects of survival equipment design and production and allow consumers to make fully informed decisions about their own investment in survival – decisions with potentially life and death importance.

After researching numerous emergency survival kits, I have decided to offer Doug Ritter's Pocket Survival Kit through my Compleat Traveller Store. As you will see by the brief review excerpts reproduced below (and the many other on the Amazon site), Doug Ritter’s Kit comes highly recommended by many purchasers of this incredible, pocket sized survival pack. Let’s take a look at the Kits features and contents.

Product Features

The Pocket Survival Pak contains a collection of survival tools for when you find yourself abandoned, stranded, or lost in the outdoors. Features include gear repair supplies; fishing supplies; sewing supplies; mini-duct tape; 20mm, liquid filled compass; and waterproof survival instructions. The Kit’s compact size and weight (just 3.9 oz., and 4" x 5" x 0.652") make it perfect for backpackers, hunters, pilots, snow-mobilers, hikers, or anyone who enjoys the great outdoors.

Product Description

The Kit contains the following items: Signal Mirror, Rescue Flash; Spark-Lite Fire Starter; Tinder Quick Fire starters; Whistle, Rescue Howler; Waterproof Survival Instructions; Duct Tape, 2" x 26"; Scalpel with Handle, Sterile, Disposable, #22 Blade; Compass, Button, Liquid Filled; Aluminum Foil, Heavy Duty, 3 Sq. Ft.; Waterproof Paper; Fresnel Magnifier; Safety Wire, Stainless Steel, (6 ft of 0.020"); Sewing Thread, Bobbin #69, Nylon; Nylon Cord, #18, Braided, (10 ft. 100lb test); Sewing Needle, #18, Chenille; Fish Hooks, #10; Split Shot, Lead B; Snap Swivel, Size 12; Pencil; Pocket Survival Pak Contents List; and Safety Pins

Warning: Due to the inclusion of numerous proscribed travel items in this emergency kit, do not attempt to transport the kit in your ‘carry on’ luggage if you are planning to fly to your destination. It will almost certainly be removed and disposed of by security personnel.

Clearly, the above kit can’t hold everything you might possibly want or need in every emergency, but based on numerous reviews on Amazon, this handy emergency kit is highly regarded, and very popular. I would recommend you add a small torch, a waterproof poncho, and a Leatherman multi-tool to your luggage, but beyond that, you should not need much more for general outdoor travel.

Amazon Customer Reviews

I've been buying and building and updating emergency preparedness kits for over fifteen years now and this is a great package. Doug Ritter's put together a real wealth of stuff in a small package and it's all top notch materials. ~ By K. Miller (Arlington, VA USA)

This kit is perfect. Small enough to fit in your pocket, yet everything you need if your outdoor trip takes a turn for the worse. Would highly recommend, and I will buy more. Everything is very high quality, nothing looks or feels cheap. ~ By Ghostrider (Az.)

I found the Adventure Medical Kit to be one of the lightest, most compact kits on the market. ~ By J. Bowe (New York)

Doug Ritter and his foundation, Equipped to Survive, has come up with a very economic method to equip yourself and your family with an emergency kit. It is small enough to carry unnoticed in a pocket, yet fully functional. ~ By T. Hassler

You can read the full reviews and many others, via the Amazon.Com website…

Sunday Supplement #2

~ Say, "Please": Reading this story will remind you of why your mother always encouraged you as a child to say, "Please".

A Canadian traveller insisting on courtesy from a member of the Customs and Border Protection guards was pepper sprayed and held in custody for three hours.

His only sin — asking the border guard to say “please” when he was asked to turn his car off during a search.

“I refused to turn off the car until he said please. He didn’t. And he has the gun, I guess, so he sprayed me,” said Desiderio Fortunato, who frequently crosses the border to visit his second home in the state of Washington. “Is that illegal in the United States, asking an officer to be polite?”

Mr. Fortunato said after he was sprayed he was forcefully taken into custody by several officers. He was held for three hours before he was released without being allowed entry into the United States. Mr. Fortunato says he was dismissed with a warning to be more cooperative in the future. Read more here...

Road Trip USA. Here's something a bit different. Two guys drive across America (from San Francisco to Washington, DC) with a camera mounted inside their car set to take photographs every 10 seconds. The resulting time-lapse video takes you speeding across California, Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee and into Washington, D.C., to the music of Michael Nyman's "An Eye for Optical Theory" (personally I would have preferred 'Born To Be Wild' by Steppenwolf, but hey, it's their road trip).

I would have also liked a few titles so viewers could get some idea of where exactly we are on the route, but it makes interesting viewing just the same. The video has been edited down from the original nine minutes running time to 4:36.

You can see a map of the exact route here...

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend.