Unisex toilets with a sign for men to stand at Edible Canada on Granville Island, 1596 Johnston Street in VancouverLaura Leyshon
Who knew a 10-centimetre metal sign above a toilet could create so much controversy?
Above the toilets in Edible Canada, a swanky Granville Island restaurant, a sign shows a stick man urinating standing up, with a line through it.
The restaurant has had the signs in their unisex washrooms for months – but on Wednesday, a Vancouver Sun blog post sparked a flurry of social media commentary, when it said the eatery had banned urinating standing up.
The story was quickly picked up by blogs across the globe, including Gawker, who called urinating standing up "the last acceptable (semi-) public display of masculinity," and the policy "stupid."
Owner Eric Pateman said he and his restaurant staff "just about killed themselves laughing" when they found out about the controversy. He bought the signs as a joke and a "conversation piece."
"One person e-mailed and said, 'If I can't pee standing up, then I'll just pee in your sink,"" Mr. Pateman said, laughing.
The owner found the signs at Puddifoot restaurant suppliers while purchasing other signs for the washrooms. He said he never meant them to be taken seriously.
"We just stuck the signs up for fun. It's not a rule," he said. "Of course you can't ban men from peeing standing up. It's what men do."
Customers never complained about the signs, he said. The only problem he had was that patrons kept tearing them off the walls – so he started selling them in the retail store. They've sold a couple of dozen signs in the past month, he said.
Of course, reporters may have missed the real story. Outside, another sign warns customers, "Don't feed the birds or you'll be pooped on."
Mr. Pateman is a self-proclaimed fan of "whimsical signs," saying that it gives customers something to talk about.
The restaurant isn't making a statement with unisex toilets. The unisex washrooms were installed to save room when the restaurant moved into a new 4,000-square foot space, he said.
Jason Puddifoot, owner of the supplier that sells the signs, said that he had been inundated with media calls from across the globe.
"I find it all a bit much," he said. "It worries me when this is a top issue."
He said the signs are popular in Europe and Asia where bathroom cleanliness is a concern.
"We sell dozens and dozens of them. We sell container loads of these. But we also sell no-smoking signs, handicap access signs and so on."
Mr. Puddifoot said he hadn't sold any additional signs since the story went viral.
"I've been talking to more reporters than customers today," he said.