Two toilet related observations from my latest journey. Ok, three.

When using Denver International, you enter an open doorway only to quickly face a wall, forcing you to make a sharp right. As a result, people who are hurrying and distracted (gee, that wouldn’t be an airport would it) risk constant collisions as they wheel carts sharp right.

Dumb.

On the other hand, we were in Europe and on a walking tour, when we were offered a toilet break.

The toilet consisted of an open closet like space with a toilet with the entrance facing the crowded square. There was only a swinging gate that began around the thighs and ended around the navel as privacy.

True, you don’t actually see the pee or private parts. Just everything else.

Now I say pee. Number 2 would require facing the public and maybe sitting below the bottom of the gate, but let’s not dwell on that image.

And finally, people bitch all the time about airplanes and tighter seats.

But the real atrocity is on some new planes where the toilets are down to two

shrunken torture chambers on either side of the galley.

We are told to not block the galley, which has no room at all.

And the aisles are so narrow you almost fall on people on the way to and from the john, have nowhere to stand waiting for your turn, and then bump and thrust the conga line to get to and from your seat.

All of this while being reminded the always empty john in first class is not for the rest of us.

The old days of three toilets in back and a place to actually stand and wait, and aisles wide enough to not bother people on each side, are going, going gone.

They really do play us for stupid.