美國評選最佳衛生間

美國“最佳衛生間”評選正在進行中，組織方將在獲勝的衛生間舉辦新聞發佈會，頒發“最佳衛生間”獎牌，並將其收入網絡明星衛生間名錄。目前，有十個衛生間進入了最後的決賽階段，網友們將在9月19日之前通過網上投票，決定誰是最後的贏家。進入決賽的衛生間都各有特色，有弗吉尼亞州衛具供應商Don's Johns爲奧巴馬總統2009年就職典禮特別製作的流動廁所；還有主打“叢林風”的紐約“哈瓦那前哨”餐廳洗手間，這家餐廳的洗手間利用蓄水池收集雨水使用，節約了大量水資源，它的玻璃屋頂和各種植物也讓人感覺更加親近自然。另外還有裝配了先進複雜的智能馬桶的紐約“忍者”餐廳，顧客只要坐在馬桶上按個按鈕，就什麼都解決了。組織方的宣傳人員表示，商家處理各種設施的方式同時也能反應其經營理念。

One will emerge flush with success and nine will go down the drain: It's America's competition for best public toilet and decision time is fast approaching.

Fans have until Sept 19 to cast online votes for the perfect privy in America's Best Restroom contest.

Ten finalists from hundreds of nominees are vying nationwide, organized by workplace supplies company Cintas.

Their charms are various.

A Las Vegas casino urinal incorporates a piece of the Berlin Wall. The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Arizona has lighting that fades in and out in different colors to create a soothing atmosphere.

Another contender for throne of thrones is the Don's Johns portable toilet, initially supplied for US President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration - though whether it had served as Restroom One is unknown.

Not to be confused with the stinking versions found at big outdoor events, the Don's John can pull the chain on most other lavatories, boasting a television, granite counters, wood panel doors and hardwood flooring.

For the winner, there's the "coveted America's Best Restroom plaque", according to Cintas, a news conference to be held in the winning facility, and entry to an online restrooms hall of fame.

Sara Jo Rubin, of Rubin Communications, a publicist for Cintas, said toilets of all sorts stand a chance in this annual battle.

"The style could be elaborate. It could be chandeliers. Some have had pool tables ... Sometimes it's quirkiness," Rubin said.

"The way you run your facilities is a reflection of how you run your business," she added.

Two of the finalists are in New York, and between them represent the extremes of the US restroom landscape.

At the Habana Outpost restaurant in Brooklyn, the mood is jungle, with a glass roof, hanging plants and rainwater flushing. The use of rainwater, which is collected in gutters and cisterns, is estimated to save thousands of gallons of city water a week.

Darcy Le Fleming, the manager, said the inspiration was New York's perpetual problem with storm water overflows, which pour raw sewage into the harbor. Habana Outpost's laid-back, eco-friendly toilet takes a small step toward putting that right.

Le Fleming said she hadn't known her restroom was nominated until a call came from Cintas. "That was very exciting," she said.

"If we win, I guess we'll have to have a big bathroom party or toilet-shaped cookies."

At the opposite end of the cubicle spectrum is the entry from Ninja, a Japanese restaurant in Manhattan modeled on an underground, feudal castle.

Here, the needy diner will wind past faux cave walls and mini Ninja dwellings before entering a bamboo-lined restroom.

There, he or she will find the mighty Toto, a Japanese toilet so sophisticated that one has to do nothing - or almost nothing - other than take a seat.

Alongside a seemingly regular commode is a panel with rows of buttons and a digital screen that allows the sitter to operate a seat warmer, an up-from-under water jet - oscillating or pulsating - a deodorizer and even a blow drier.

"The seat is basically heated, not heated up so it's going to burn, but it's warm," said Lillian Buchel, 19, who works at Ninja. "It has cleaning utensils that clean your behind. It also dries you."

Customers tend to burst back into the 15th century Ninja castle laughing.

"They always act surprised, but they definitely like it," Buchel said.