As New York City takes the plunge with new pay toilets, we look back at the history of public restrooms

New York City recently unveiled a new public restroom, which costs visitors 25 cents for a 15-minute stay, opens automatically after that interval, and initiates a 60-second cleaning cycle after each trip. The grand opening was heralded as a much-needed step toward addressing the health, sanitation and privacy needs of a massive urban population in an era in which free public facilities have dwindled, if not disappeared. It's an old problem—and one that society has been grappling with since the Roman Empire. A brief history of public attempts to handle nature's call. Photo: Mary Altaffer / AP