When you gotta go, you gotta go. But there isn’t always a place for you. You know this if you’ve ever roamed a city. You spend all day bopping around from place to place, walking through different neighborhoods. And then it strikes you. You need to use the bathroom. But odds are, you’re in a city where there are very few public bathrooms. You scan your brain for nearby coffee shops or restaurants, but nothing is coming up. The need is becoming more urgent. You exhaust all the options in your head. But where do you go? Do you go so far as to knock on a stranger’s door? This is a city, anything can happen!

I’m gonna be honest. In all my years of roaming urban spaces, I’ve never asked a stranger to use their personal bathroom. It has never come up. There is always a restaurant, store, or library you can use instead. I can’t imagine someone inviting a stranger into their home. I can’t imagine going into a stranger’s home. It’s a bad idea all around.