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German judge defends right of men to pee standing up

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German judge defends right of men to pee standing up
Landlord took former tenant to court for refusing to pay for damage to the marble floor of the bathroom he said was caused by stray drops from the tenant’s habit of relieving himself while standing

Men have the right to pee standing up in their own homes, a German court has ruled.

An Englishman’s home may be his castle, but in Germany the courts consider it their duty to rule on even the most intimate details of life at home.

The ruling comes after a landlord took his former tenant to court for refusing to pay for damage to the marble floor of the bathroom of his flat that he said was caused by stray drops from the tenant’s habit of relieving himself standing up.

It might seem standard practice for most men to take aim from a standing position, but some sections of German society have a bizarre obssession 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.

The landlord complained that his tenant had caused €1,900 (£1,440) of damage to the floor of the bathroom. But the judge ruled on Thursday that the tenant had the right to take care of business standing up.

“Despite the increasing domestication of men in this regard, urinating while standing up is still widespread,” he wrote in a judgment which appeared at times to be a riposte to the claim that Germans have no sense of humour.

“Anyone who still practises this formerly dominant custom has to expect occasional clashes with their flatmates, particularly female ones. But they don’t have to worry about damage to the marble floor.”

The judge’s ruling in Düsseldorf comes only days after Germany’s supreme court ruled that smokers can face limits on how much they can smoke on the balconies of their own homes.

Last year a court upheld the eviction of a pensioner from his home of more than 40 years for excessive smoking indoors.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11363516/German-judge-defends-right-of-men-to-pee-standing-up.html

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