German court upholds man's right to pee standing up

BERLIN — A German court has ruled that a tenant who liked to pee standing up doesn't owe his landlord money for damages apparently caused by splashing, or missing his target altogether.

The Duesseldorf administrative court rejected the landlord's claim of 1,900 euros ($2,200) for alleged damage to the bathroom's marble floor, the dpa [sic] news agency reported Thursday.

While accepting expert testimony that urine had damaged the marble, Judge Stefan Hank ruled the man's method was within cultural norms, saying that "despite the increasing domestication of men in this context, urinating standing up is still common practice."

Justin Huggler, a Telegraph reporter stationed in Berlin, put the judge's quote in context with this observation:

... some sections of German society have a bizarre obsession with obliging men to answer nature's call while seated. It is not uncommon to find home-made signs in German bathrooms commanding men to adopt a seated position.

Hank said further that the tenant could have expected "regular conflicts" with those he lived with — but not that the bathroom's marble floor would be damaged.



















