Curbside urinals - No kidding! (Warning: Some grossness contained herein.)

I knew from Rick Steves' videos that these curbside urinals existed in Amsterdam, but I hand't seen one until now (and then I see two of them in one day...)

Anyway, I don't know how frequently these are found throughout the city (or what women are supposed to do). One good thing I have noticed about Amsterdam is that there is a decided lack o'stench in the city. In downtown Seattle, when walking past alleyways, one has to hold one's nose and practically run past the alley because of the overpowering stench of urine. It really is disgusting. By contrast, Amsterdam, despite a plethora of small alleyways and various nooks, has no stench.

Despite the weirdness of having some man urinating in a somewhat open urinal on the sidewalk, I think I'd prefer this to the other option of having the city smell like pee. I imagine this was the practical Dutch's answer to men urinating in the canals.

Note: The picture is somewhat deceptive. The man in the photograph is not urinating - he is entering the urinal, which is located more to the left. When using the facility, the man is completely hidden from view, except for his feet - and the top of his head if he is tall.