I am proud of fellow U. of I. grad student Karen Rae Cast (not an acquaintance) for having her thesis on the aestheticization of men's rooms featured in Improbable Research. (IR does the Ig Nobels...) The onward links from the IR article are interesting, esp. the "Modern Toilet" restaurant chain in Taiwan and the world's largest public bathroom in Chongqing, provided with "an Egyptian facade and soothing music" as well as an inordinate number of urinals.
