BERIGAN Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 (edited) Unwired Travel: Virgin Potty Talk Tue Mar 16,12:45 PM ET Add Fashion - Fashion Wire Daily to My Yahoo! Paula Conway Fashion Wire Daily March 16, 2004 - New York - KISSING IN THE MEN'S ROOM AT THE VIRGIN CLUBHOUSE Fashion Wire Daily Photo Even though they allow for high-volume servicing and back-in-a-flash trips to the john, the point-and-shoot-a-stinky-deodorizer-cake oddity known as the men’s restroom urinal has been, for women, a constant enigma. But nothing will prepare you for the men’s room in the newly-designed Virgin Airways Clubhouse in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, terminal 4: Urinals shaped like a woman’s mouth, dolled up with red lipstick, wide open and ready for business. “In anything that we do there has to be a smile, and that’s the smile in this Clubhouse,” said John Riordan, Vice President of Customer Services for Virgin Airways. The urinals, called Kisses, were designed by Netherlands based company Bathroom Mania. “Kisses - the sexy urinal, makes a daily event a blushing experience! This is one target men will never miss!,” said the Bathroom Mania team via e-mail from the Netherlands. “The Bathroom Mania designs create a fantasy-world in the bathroom by working on impressions and stories.” They also make the Good Morning Sunshine flower potty, a toilet in the shape of a flower pot with images of flowery freshness, and the Splish Splash bathtub shaped like a hammock. But if you’re a hold it ‘til you get there kinda guy, the urinals, thankfully aren’t the only feature to rave about in the new clubhouse, where Spike Lee (news) dropped by last week and most probably got a smile from the lady in the men’s room. “My favorite other fun items are the Ben & Jerry’s “grab-n-go minis” in the refrigerators,” said Elizabeth Ciresi, a spokesperson for Virgin. “There’s also a dedicated business area for iMACS, two day beds in the Snooze Room and showers packed with Virgin accessories.” While some airlines have itty bitty lounges with big names like the Delta Crown Room Club, Virgin opted for a roomy 7,000 square feet in theirs. “With the big names that fly in our Upper Class there are big expectations - both on the ground and in the air - so 7,000 square feet is on par with what our customers expect,” added Ms. Ciresi. For an airline that has open mouths in the bathrooms, one would expect unconventional designs in the lounge areas. Instead of walls (who needs them?) there’s a free standing waterfall that pours out of the ceiling. It drains into a 100-foot pool that doubles as the wall of the lounge (why not?). The result: one exterior wall is the reflecting pool; the other is a triple height ceiling out on to the terminal. VIPs don’t have to mingle with the riff-raff (who would no doubt be milling by the urinals anyway), the Red Room is their special space. Like the cigar girls of the 1940’s, Virgin staff roam the clubhouse, weaving between pearlescent screens with the Hewlett Packard PC’s in hand to access anything for passengers at any time like reservations or ordering a meal within the clubhouse. And if Paris Hilton brings her laptop in her Louis Vuitton book bag, she can hang out in the WiFi zone to chat about The Simple Life with Nicole Richie. The Virginesque aura screams out with local flavor as the mood lighting and color-shifting patterns alter in tandem with the light coming in from the outside. As night falls, a skyline grid of New York City as seen from the East River becomes illuminated to reveal the outline of the skyscrapers. Who’s using the clubhouse the most these days? “With the exchange rate so attractive to Europeans we are jam-packed with Londoners flying over here for bargains,” said John Riordan. With added incentive to visit the new Virgin Clubhouse at JFK, I am in a hurry to book my next flight toLondonjust for the pleasure of becoming reVirginized. HEADS UP PR OFFICE, I’LL BE CALLING SHORTLY FOR A PRESS TICKET!! http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid...wired&printer=1 Edited March 18, 2004 by BERIGAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I just have to add, 30 seconds after posting, I see that Jazzmoose, and Indestructible! are reading the thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Well, here's where I look like a prude again, but that's pretty disgusting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I just have to add, 30 seconds after posting, I see that Jazzmoose, and Indestructible! are reading the thread! Hey, as slow as it is right now, I'll take any new post I can get! I'm down to the "which RVG is better than the JRVG or TOCJ for distance flying" thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Wouldn't this be a more appropriate fixture at, let's say, a strip club or Bob Guccione's home? Truly vile. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 The urinals, called Kisses, were designed by Netherlands based company Bathroom Mania. Why am I not surprised... (sigh) ...that's pretty disgusting... Couldn't agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robviti Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 or maybe it's: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I might just call that Netherlands outfit today and see if I can't special order an 'Al Franken' model........maybe see if they can't churn out a 'Michael Moore' unit for Berigan's place. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with the Golden Arm Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Hey Weizy... Considering the "PSA Score of 30" in your signature there you'll be in and out of that mouth in a hurry. Just watch who's behind you. Paging Doctor Nagurski! But back to the topic: If the Japanese had designed this it would be a whole lot more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 “My favorite other fun items are the Ben & Jerry’s “grab-n-go minis” in the refrigerators,” said Elizabeth Ciresi, a spokesperson for Virgin. “There’s also a dedicated business area for iMACS, two day beds in the Snooze Room and showers packed with Virgin accessories.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Well, what I want to know is why there's not a post-defecatory bidet. You could call it a Boodet. I'd think that there'd be a market... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maren Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 This thread is guaranteed to vastly increase the female membership of this forum... um, NOT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 This thread is guaranteed to vastly [NOT] increase the female membership of this forum... I had the exact same thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Paging Berigan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Paging Berigan! Yeah, personally I wouldn't mind a bit if Berigan chose to delete this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 This thread is guaranteed to vastly increase the female membership of this forum... Yeah, and between this and Berigan's frog joke, I think we can safely kiss off Mick and Keith ever hanging out with us as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Paging Berigan! Yeah, personally I wouldn't mind a bit if Berigan chose to delete this thread. good grief, I'd take a million threads like this, before I 'd want to see another on Cannibals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Paging Berigan! Yeah, personally I wouldn't mind a bit if Berigan chose to delete this thread. good grief, I'd take a million threads like this, before I 'd want to see another on Cannibals! There's a cannibal thread?! Where? --eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Paging Berigan! Yeah, personally I wouldn't mind a bit if Berigan chose to delete this thread. good grief, I'd take a million threads like this, before I 'd want to see another on Cannibals! There's a cannibal thread?! Where? --eric Oh God, no...don't ask! Trust me, you don't want those kind of mental scars.... Now, he will spend the next few hours trying to dig up the thread! Trust me, it ain't worth it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Watersports are deeply personal and have no place being sensationalized on airlines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockefeller center Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 There's a cannibal thread?! Where? --eric http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...&hl=cannibalism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/21318.htm READY, AIM - FIRED By STEPHANIE GASKELL March 20, 2004 -- Virgin Atlantic Airways yesterday flushed plans to install a urinal shaped like a woman's mouth at its new executive clubhouse at Kennedy Airport. On the day a press conference was called by the National Organization of Women to denounce the urinals, Virgin Customer Service VP John Riordan announced the British airline was canning its plans. Riordan, who said earlier this week he expected the response to be "very positive" after the design was unveiled, issued an apology. "Everyone at Virgin Atlantic was very sorry to hear of people's concerns about the design of the 'Kisses' urinals to be fitted into our clubhouse at JFK Airport," Riordan said in a statement. "We can assure everyone who complained to us that no offense was ever intended. The urinals themselves were the idea of a female designer and we were therefore surprised by the reaction." Riordan said the company intended the urinals - which appeared as red lips shaped like a puckered-up mouth - to be "fun and quirky." But women's rights groups and several politicians weren't laughing. "It is a symbolic act of degrading and humiliating women," Rita Haley, president of NOW's city chapter, said at a City Hall press conference yesterday. Councilman Phil Reed (D-Manhattan), who learned of the about-face during the press conference, said he was glad Virgin changed its mind. But he questioned why the decision was ever made in the first place. "There was a mentality that said that was acceptable," Reed said. "What were they thinking? That's really the question that you have to ask. Or was it a publicity stunt just to get their name out there?" Reed said he wants an apology from Virgin owner and self-made billionaire Richard Branson. "I'd like to hear that from the man who flies around telling us that he's so wonderful and so brilliant," Reed said. "If he's hired somebody that stupid, maybe he should fire all of them." Councilman John Liu (D-Queens) said the company has a responsibility to set a standard. "This kind of action taken by a major company does lead to more misogyny in our society, it leads to potential violence against women and that's why this is so harmful," Liu said. "It's all meant in good fun, so they should not have any problems with their own face being on these urinals. I think that's what they should do," he said. The urinals were supposed to be installed in the men's room at the airline's new clubhouse - an upscale, 7,000-square-foot lounge that has a waterfall with a reflecting pool, a bar with a 42-inch plasma screen, a dining area and a bar equipped with four Sony PlayStations. It is open only to passengers on Virgin's new Upper Class suite service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Paging Berigan! Yeah, personally I wouldn't mind a bit if Berigan chose to delete this thread. good grief, I'd take a million threads like this, before I 'd want to see another on Cannibals! HEY!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 The lesson - if you get pissed off, you're less likely to get pissed on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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