News you can't use...
Minmon's Leigh Pomeroy recently treated readers to a tale about his quest for a biffy in the new Minneapolis Central Library — which appears to be under-endowed in the stall department and likely over-populated with folks who lack a bathroom of one's own.
But it could be worse. A lot worse.
In Nairobi's sprawling Kibera slum, landlords often don't bother to include latrines with the shacks they throw up, and an estimated 600,000 people must cope with a toilet-to-resident ratio of 1 to more than 2000. (Here at Across the Great Divide world headquarters, it's 3 : 2.)
The consequences are more than inconvenience for the incontinent, of course, including "flying toilets" that collect waste in easily disposable plastic bags. Commercial toilets cost 3¢ per visit. A man in the linked story earns about $1.35 per day.
Remember this one next time someone tells you the market can provide the solution for health care and the uninsured.
