Some things are better left executed sans technology, methinks. Take for instance a new service called MizPee which attempts to locate the bathroom nearest to you from a cellphone. It’s a good idea in theory, but it seems that anywhere you’d be where the service actually works, it’s not going to be tough to find a bathroom. But where it really counts — like in the back of a taxi in the middle of Mumbai traffic (don’t ask) — MizPee probably won’t help.
Regardless, when you’re traveling, chances are you don’t know the lay of the land. So if you really need to go, browse to www.mizpee.com on your cellphone and enter in the city and street address nearest to you, and the service will spit out the nearest public toilet. Included with the results are is the distance from where you currently are, a toilet rating, and other details like whether or not you have to pay to pee.
You can also access the service by sending a text message to their phone number (415-350-2290) with your city and state in the body. I tried this with my hometown, but after waiting about 10 minutes, I finally got a response saying, “Welcome to MizPee. Click the following address to visit our service: www.mizpee.com” Not only could I have most likely found a bathroom quicker than that, but it doesn’t help us poor folks who don’t have Internet access on our phones. It’d be great if it spit the results out as a text message instead of simply referring me to the website.
Good thing I didn’t really have to go. [via]