We can't figure out the thinking behind this one. Is it a correctional facility where the bathroom user needs to be observed at all times? Seems to nice. Do all the stalls have smartglass that automatically darkens whenever someone enters? Doesn't seem nice enough. If anyone has any clues, please e-mail them to [email protected].

Sometimes you find a urinal so bad it deserves space in a "Worst Toilets" gallery. Imagine walking in on this after a night at the bar!

I would love to give credit where credit it due, but all I can discover is that this image has been bouncing around on Russian message boards for a few years. If anyone knows its exact point of origin, please let me know at [email protected]. Thanks!

This is taking the ice-hotel concept a little too far! While we admire the workmanship and the dedication to detail, would a wooden or plastic seat really have been such a bad idea?

Brrrr!

This image from a Flickr photo group shows a Russian train toilet that does not seem to have been cleaned so much as periodically painted. Well, when you've gotta go...

Rather than find a corner toilet or cut through the concrete someone has MacGyver-ed a standard toilet in two and made it fit the space.

Maybe it was the easiest solution to the problem at the best price for the customer, but man does it look terrible. Thanks go to user SupplyHouseTeam on the social media site Reddit.

So you go to use a public toilet, only to hear a strange croaking sound. You (obviously) lift the tank lid and discover a colony of frogs have made it their new home. Photo: Reddit user OllieWilliamsComment.

Photo from an outhouse in Donegal, Ireland. [photo: Gary Langan].

And here is that staple of southeast Asia, the squat toilet. While the set-up is unfamiliar and you do have to bring your own toilet paper, this one is at least relatively clean and offers a convenient grab-bar to keep the user stable.

Okay, first, we can't even speculate on the thought process that decided to actually spend money on, and then go ahead an install this into a bathroom.

But geeze, imagine walking into the stall and seeing this kind of nightmare fuel? It is supposedly occupying a bar somewhere down Mexico way -- but the submitter neglected to say if it was in the men's or the women's room!

What was once the epitome of high-end toilet technology is now one of the worst toilets. This is the toilet of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen in the Castle Marksberg, on the heights overlooking the Rhine. Sent in by reader Dennis Sirianni of the Hydronic Heating Dept. at Keller Supply. Have fun on your cruise, Dennis!

This is a more gruesome version of the squat toilet, with the user basically squatting over a trough. Minimal privacy, and only a thin stream of water clears the waste.

Another variation on the hole-in-the-ground toilet, this one with the added bonus of sub-freezing temperatures.

Well, when you stop to think about it, it is just an interesting way to get a seat over a pit toilet Cuts down on your materials and installation costs. And the user get to gently swing themselves during the act. Photo: user murosaka on the social media site Reddit.

Sometimes the worst toilet is just the one that isn't working.

This toilet it attached to a drinking establishment in Malawi. At least it's colorful.

This one from Melbourne, Australia. Specifically on the corner of Albert and Nicholson Streets in the city. (From the blog archives of www.project183.com ).

I think all of us, wherever we may stand on the political spectrum, can agree this outhouse pretty well sums up this year's politics. And heck, maybe politics in general!

Democracy: often messy.

In close competition with southeast Asia are many of the public facilities in the former Soviet Union. This picture comes from a bathroom in Latvia.

Pictures like this have actually become almost common following the recent extensive flooding in Louisiana. Homeowners return to their building after the waters recede to find a colony of frogs has taken up residence in their toilet.

Thanks to user everything-idiotic on the social media site Reddit for the pic.

Of course, having a more conventional toilet is actually worse if that toilet is never cleaned and in a high-traffic area.

Honestly, I don't see how this can be an honest mistake on either the plumber or the builder's part. Someone, on one side of the equation or the other, has thrown down the gauntlet. Only wish we knew the backstory...

The ultimate in no-frills accommodation. This photo is from a way-station in the Himalayas.