The Whole World Is Going Down The Toilet

When I was attending Georgia Tech back in the late 1970’s I lived in Harrison Dormitory for a year. Harrison had no AC, clunky steam radiator heat, and a lovely view of the Downtown Connector (a combination of I-75 and I-85) and the world famous The Varsity restaurant, the largest drive-in restaurant in the US. It even has a 600 car parking deck.

As a concession to the students, there was a pedestrian tunnel under the interstate at 5th Street that allowed you to walk across if you wanted to visit the adjacent run-down retail establishments and housing on the other side of “the concrete gulch.”

There was this little hole-in-the-wall bar (I forget the name) that had an eclectic mix of local residents and students as patrons. I only wandered in there a couple of times, because I was frightened by the way they served their popcorn—in a toilet.

You heard me right, the first thing that you saw when you walked in the door was a full sized porcelin toilet sitting on the end of the bar—full of popcorn. And people were EATING the popcorn. I, personally, could never quite get used to the idea.

If you are going to do popcorn in a toilet, why not serve dinner in a toilet like they are doing in this restaurant in Tiawan?

“KAOHSIUNG, Tiawan--Taiwanese restaurateur Eric Wang has given new meaning to the traditional revelers' cry of bottoms up.

His eatery in the southern city of Kaohsiung delivers its food not on conventional plates and dishes, but in miniaturized Western and Asian style toilets, both the flush and non-flush variety.

For anyone missing the point, diners are encouraged to stir up mushy, earth-colored offerings like curry chicken rice and chocolate ice cream to conjure up -- well, the real thing.

Located in a downtown area with a variety of competing eateries, Marton -- the name means toilet in Chinese -- attracts its customers through its dazzling bathroom decor.

Walking in through an arched door, diners are greeted with a giant toilet bowl sitting between two urinals. White ceramic toilet seats comfortably accommodate their bottoms, and urinals grace the walls.”

Sorry, but I think I’ll just have a sandwich here at home…