Presenter Adrian Chiles has revealed he has his very own urinal in his flat, saying he feels ‘very proud’ of the receptacle, which sits beneath a stained glass window featuring a football crest.
Writing for The Guardian last week, Chiles responded to a viral video released by actors and Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, in which the Deadpool star unveiled a urinal for his friend.
He said it reminded him of a pal, late Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes, who decided to ‘nick’ some bricks when West Bromwich Albion demolished the home fans’ end of the stadium – later realising said bricks had been from the toilet block and carried an ‘awful’ stench.
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But that’s not all the video stunt made Chiles think of – it turned out he has his own personal urinal story.
He explained: “I was also reminded of the urinal I have in my flat, sitting below a stained glass window, featuring West Brom’s crest. I’m very proud of it – the urinal more than the crest.”
Chiles continued: “I’m a great enthusiast for urinals in the home. This is an enthusiasm shared by very few people, especially women, who have been known to retch at the very sight of it. This baffles me. Many a chap has been chastised about his incompetent use of conventional toilets – poor aim, not putting the seat down, and so on. Well, here’s the answer: a receptacle at the correct height for ease of use, which is neat, tidy, clean and flushable. It changed my life.”
After the piece was published last week, the 55-year-old inadvertently set off something of a new trend.
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Leading bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing has since reported a huge increase in queries for at-home urinals, saying online enquiries ‘shot up in a single day’ – on 22 April, the day after Chiles’ article was published – and that the trend then ‘steadily continued over the weekend’.
Joe Pascoe from Victorian Plumbing said: “We would usually receive one or two inbound enquiries a year about installing urinals in homes or apartments but last Friday, we were inundated with requests. On Saturday the team took over 80 different requests both online and on call.
“People were keen to know whether they were common in people’s homes, how much they cost and how quickly they could be installed.
“One person even asked if they could install multiple urinals in their three homes!”
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The company said the number of inbound enquiries is also reflected in Google search data, which showed ‘double the amount of searches for “urinal” on the same day the article was published, higher than at any other point in 2022’.
Pascoe added: “Urinals are commonplace in public spaces like stadiums, parks and shopping centres but to have them in a house is still pretty unusual. They require specialised plumbing systems that differentiate from installing normal toilets but given the increase in interest, we are actively considering adding options to our Autumn range.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: UK News
