LONDON (AP) — Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.

    • Salamendacious@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      Not sure about the Guggenheim but in London the article says:

      The golden toilet was fully functioning, and prior to the theft, visitors to the exhibition could book a three-minute appointment to use it.

    • eric@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      When I was there, there was a short line to use it, so after I learned it was a special toilet, I just got in line. I try not to poop in public toilets as a rule, but this seemed like the ideal exception to make.

      E: also, it’s a real shame that you weren’t allowed to use it, as use was the primary intention of the artist. I googled it to make sure I wasn’t misremembering…

      From the Guggenheim’s website:

      Its participatory nature, in which viewers are invited to make use of the fixture individually and privately, allows for an experience of unprecedented intimacy with a work of art.

      • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        8 months ago

        I think I must have seen it when there was no line. Nobody expressly told me I couldn’t use it, but it was obviously an exhibit, and I don’t make a habit of taking risky poops in art.

        If I had only known…

        • eric@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          I can completely understand that conclusion. It’s the first and last piece of art that I’ve literally shit on, and it felt weird doing it. It also made me contemplate why toilet seats are the only item in the world that we are ok touching with our skin after many strangers’ bare asses have touched it.

          • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            8 months ago

            It’s because, ideally, only the legs and outer cheeks are touching the seat. If a person with short shorts sits in a chair, nobody thinks twice about sitting in the same chair. One anus brushes a seat, and everyone loses their minds.

        • eric@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Yes, my point was that you can use it. I know because I did use it, and the quote was there to back up my experience.

          • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Oh, “you” referred to that individual instance, I read it as the general.

            This is why more people should adopt the second person plural “y’all”.

            • rooster_butt
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              8 months ago

              Or we can go back to using the singular thy and reserve you for plural like in romance languages.