I heard about this a while ago but never got around to blogging about it.
A Brazilian environmental group, SOS Mata Atlantica, is encouraging Brazilians to pee in the shower to save water. Hell, invite your husband in and you can kill two birds with one stone. Save a liter of water and be a little kinky at the same time.
Apparently, "if every household avoids a flush a day, it can save up to 4,380 liters (1,157 gallons) of water annually." As written in this article by the Huffington Post.
Narrated by kids, the commercial circulating Brazil is calling for all people to pee pee in the shower. Men, women, children, Brazilians, non Brazilians, sports stars, etc etc. It's in Portuguese but is still entertaining, whether you understand or not. The moral of the story "Pee in the shower! Save the Atlantic rainforest!"
If the environment isn't enough of a reason for you to relieve yourself where you clean yourself, check out this site for some entertaining points on showering and urination (and also where I found the wonderful intro photo!) Do You Pee in the Shower?
So that leaves me to ask, do you pee in the shower? Would you, could you?
Nice public service campaign, and -- no comment.
ReplyDeleteStrange PSA, indeed...but funny. Can you imagine the shock this would produce if shown as a commercial break on kid's shows or cartoons back in the States?
ReplyDelete-Chris
www.floridaguyinbrazil.com
I think that it is pretty funny as my mum would kill me if I did this when I was small...
ReplyDeleteJim, you soooo do it then!
ReplyDeleteChrist - I could see it. It would be all over Fox news ;)
Karine - hahaha, I know! But you know what, I don't give my kids crap for it at all. I just say, aim for the drain.
Rach, this WAS all over Fox news last year
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRqBHawQfLw
of course my mom picked up on it.
Many Brazilians seem opposed to flushing in general when its a number one, especially at home with family or in a republica, so I don't know how much this campaign helps. This was one of the grosser habbits I had to get used to.
I guess being an environmentally unsound flusher is part of my American DNA, but I often wonder whether people think I enjoy wasting water or that my body still hasn't accustomed to all the rice and beans even after years.
I love that this was all over Fox news. I can totally see them ranting about it.
ReplyDeleteMany Brazilians do, I agree. I think it also has something to do with wasting. Brazilians never throw anything out that can be used or fixed. And they are aware of how much they use in terms of utilities. I learned to soap up all the dishes and then turn on the water .
Now I'm just gonna be the Devil's advocate here, but when one has a pee, one has a pee, it's not like the easiest thing to multi-task to. What I mean is, while those toons are having a wee wee in the ad, I don't see them soaping or otherwise making the most of the water pouring down, so in the maybe 20 seconds it takes to pee, how much water did one waste in the shower?
ReplyDeleteOther than that, as long as it's aimed at the drain and done ideally at the beginning of the shower, I don't much care whether people do or don't!
I don't see any problem what so ever...
ReplyDeleteI say go for it.
Urine is sterile when you urinating it anyway...
No big deal at all!
Ray
=;^)
ReplyDeleteI watched the Fox News video with that smug d*ckhead Beck. As if he's NEVER pissed in the shower... get real, man!
ReplyDeleteAs a side-note, I'm having a hard time adjusting to the whole poo-paper wastebasket thing. Nope, I just can't do it. I will resist as long as possible. I will still wipe my butt and put it in the toilet, but pray each time I flush that I don't end up being the unlucky one to clog the pipes.
Also, the thing about washing dishes... I was given the hairy eyeball by one of my wife's sisters when washing some dishes the other night. I had the faucet open, but not dumping a ton of water, while washing. She came up to me and asked why I'm using so much water. Just soap everything up and then rinse. I think the question took me by surprise and I tried to say something funny/witty: "Because I'm an American" was what blurted out. She didn't laugh. That's the LAST time I try and help out the maid! :{
-Chris
www.floridaguyinbrazil.com
I do and did long before Brazil. I saw the ad on T.V. last year.
ReplyDeleteChris, I would not want to be your neighbor.
ReplyDeleteUsually when it blocks up its not in your place, its in the street or the apartment building so it backs up into other people's homes.
We had a problem with that in our building. Someone on an upperfloor kept flushing stuff and rinsing big hair globs down the drain and it backed into an apartment on the first floor
It's happy hour here, and I'm finally catching up on my reading, and now we are all watching the video. Thank you for providing our entertainment for the evening!
ReplyDeleteOi Rachel!
ReplyDeleteLong time reader, first-time commenter. Figures it would be on a post about fazer xixi no banho. LOL
OK, here's what I don't get--Why is this seen as a campaign to save water? What about all the extra showers EACH Brazilian takes per day? Is there more water wasted flushing a toilet or taking a shower? From the Brazilians I know, I don't think they prefer to take a quickie shower.
Second, isn't there an ick factor involved? You freak out if you get dirt under your fingernails but it's fine to piss down your leg (guess it may not be as gross if you're a guy and you just aim into the drain). Enquiring minds want to know! ;)
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteAny pipe ANYWHERE in the WORLD will CLOG if you throw STUFF and GLOBS of HAIR.
This toilet paper thing with the horrible basket habit is an idiotic urban myth, it not truth, it doesn't happen.
Chris,
Keep doing it, don't worry, be happy!
If you toilet backs up you can write me an email and cuss me out!! :)
All,
Only very old houses or precarious improvised toilets in slums will sometimes clog with toilet paper and even that is rare.
Ray
Thanks for backing me up, Ray! I'm not in an apartment, I'm in a house in the countryside that has a septic tank. I seriously doubt it would cause any neighbor a problem.
ReplyDelete""Many Brazilians seem opposed to flushing in general when its a number one, especially at home with family or in a republica, so I don't know how much this campaign helps. This was one of the grosser habbits I had to get used to.""
ReplyDeleteALL Brazilians i know flush the toilet and they also tend to be very tidy and somehow obsessed with cleaning!!
My apartment in Rio is not that old but flushing TP is definitely not okay here. The theory's been proven over and over again, we must have some bad pipes or something!! The no TP rule horrified every guest that has come from North America (which I found funny every single time).
ReplyDeleteOn the xixi no banho note, I think a few kids at our club took the message a little too literally. They now get out of the pool to go over to the outdoor showers to move their swim suits to the side to pee in the drain in front of everyone. No joke. Thankful still that they aren't doing it in the pool. Note that I have witnessed multiple kids do this on multiple occasions...