I can't say it's *only* an American thing but I can say I've never seen this type of stall in America that doesn't have a pretty significant gap.

It's the same in Canada. Annoying, isn't it? Then again, I figure if someone is that desperate to ogle my middle aged a**e, then I pity them.

Not just an American thing, we also have gaps in our stalls in Australia. Fortunately the gaps don't seem as big in the US, but you can still peek through them.

I have never seen a stall without a huge gap. I have no idea why we Americans are like this. I think we all hate it, everyone I know has at one point in their life said "Don't you hate those huge gaps in the bathroom" so no actual idea of why this madness has not ended.

Me (a Brit) have never seen them either.

It sure is. I almost put a kid's eye in danger when I poked the eyeball peeking in on me from that crack. I have also put my dirty shoe on a kid's face that decided to slide under the stall door. His mother was none too happy, but it was the kid's own fault for doing that. Should have raised him better.

Yeah, in Canada too. Now, just don't ask why, no one knows!

Yes and it's STUPID. Almost every US public restroom has a gap. I've heard that it's so people won't do drugs in the bathroom, but that's ridiculous.

Depends on the quality of the establishment. Unfortunately the metal that makes up the stalls and the doors is easy to break/move. A lot of hotels and some higher end restaurants have actual doors on the stalls. It's all about cost efficiency

It definitely is common in the U.S. And annoying as all get-out. When I find a bathroom stall with full privacy, I do a little dance - it is very unusual.

In America, our gaps are as big as our obesity rates, Very-freaking-noticeable.

Yes and it's so awkward at school. You're just tryna mind your business when some kinder kid comes and stares at you like there arent 5 other open stalls.

Really? I’ve never been in a bathroom without a gap in the stalls. Its so awkward.

The gap in many American public restrooms is so large that you will avoid looking at them in order to avoid seeing the eyeball looking at you watching to see if you are looking at them through the crack. LOL You can recognize people through that aperture, for god's sake. Yeah, the space between support and door is wide.

I think that it's more of a lazy designer/carpenter thing. Another endeavor that requires that almost extinct concept of COMMON SENSE.

(American) our gaps are so big that you can accidentally make eye contact, and it's awful.

Admittedly, I've seen some sketchy bathroom stalls, but most public ones in the US have a door you can lock. Rest stops off major highways (interstates) almost all have huge gaps and weird locks that never work. In *my* experience.

It is not a American “thing”

lmaoo d*mn right it is

I've travelled quite a bit, and it definitely isn't only an American problem, but it is widespread in America. Of course, in some places outside of America, no one really cares about the privacy of bathrooms at all, which can be a little awkward while trying to poop, haha

no, we have them in Turkey too

Yes. I've never been able to get used to them when I've been over there.

Almost all American restrooms have awkward gaps on the sides and at the bottom. There's one main manufacturer of toilet stalls in the US, and they're pretty much all prefabricated. It saves them money by using less material in production. The gaps at the bottom make it easier to mop a restroom quickly without having to open each stall. Plus, the gaps in the doors are meant to encourage you to get in and right back out.

It is an American thing and I hate it it’s like someone can peek through and see you doing your business and it makes people uncomfortable to the point where you won’t go to the bathroom in public places when I was a kid.

Yes! IT SUCKS!

I've never understood why the gap in the stalls needs to be there. Not one person has ever been able to tell me a practical use for having that gap there. Someone once suggested that it's there in case a kid locks him- or herself in, but if that happened they could just crawl under the door through the floor gap. I'm American and I don't get it, either.

Yep. The gaps in the stall doors at my school are huge. It’s why I never go.

Just about every stall I've been in has a 1/2 inch (about 2cm I think) gap. Most stalls the walls are 4 feet tall so they screw them in almost 2 feet off the ground so the wall is vertically from 2 - 6 feet. But at 2 feet off the ground you can almost see someone sitting

Yup. There are literal gaps between the door and the wall. I'm if its just scrappy American building or what, but its very common.

There's some here in Australia. One pub had the guys urinal with a mirror window, so they can watch people sitting outside, guys would walk out n check if it's see through!,😂

I (Brit) work in a public place with cubicles that have gaps. It’s a pretty old building though

I've definitely seen it some places in the UK, but nowhere near as bad as I have seen it in the US. Like a 3 ft gap 🤣

yes

Probably. I'm Australian and have never seen

American here, most public stalls do have a small gap. Some have unreasonably large ones. A few places, usually nicer establishments, have no gaps.

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I can't believe BP has censored the word k**b. It does have other meanings other than to refer to a man's penis.