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The first time I saw something like this in a Swiss Restaurant in Zurich I was really confused. What should it be used for?

Speibecken

(photo by TheoPB, available under CC-by-sa)

Then I was told that you can find those sanitary installations particularly in traditional restaurants that are frequently visited by students and they use it if they drank too much beer.

In my various travels through Europe and North America I haven't seen anything like this. So I'm really wondering if I can tell my fellow travelers that I meet if this is a Swiss/German invention? Maybe because of the lively Studentenverbindungen in Switzerland?

feklee
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RoflcoptrException
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    First time I've seen one. Awesome idea - should be in all uni bathrooms... – Mark Mayo Oct 29 '11 at 05:01
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    I've also seen them in German truck stops –  Oct 29 '11 at 06:24
  • If only they were in the Turkish truck stop last night )-: – hippietrail Oct 29 '11 at 09:46
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    I've never seen such a thing in Germany, and I've lived here all my life. I was really baffled when I just googled and found out that apparently some places in my city (Munich) do have them. Huh. But while there are apparently a few of them out there, they're certainly not common. I'd be very surprised if the average German had ever heard of the word. – Cass Oct 29 '11 at 17:19
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    Never seen that either in Germany, and i spent a few years there... – iHaveacomputer Oct 30 '11 at 23:52
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    Really interesting. So it seems to be a Swiss invention. – RoflcoptrException Oct 31 '11 at 08:04
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    The one in Manchester is a sink for filling buckets for cleaning the floor. It may have other uses but the fine grating in the plughole would get blocked with diced carrots quite quickly. – Owain Jan 02 '12 at 15:15
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    I live in Germany and I have never seen one ! – Thorsten S. Apr 19 '13 at 10:42
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    I can't speak to how common this goofy sink structure is, but I can assure you that vomitoriums are common the world over. The English speaking world tends to simply call the, 'exits'. (The word has nothing to do with puking.) – LessPop_MoreFizz Aug 02 '14 at 10:12
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    (https://i.stack.imgur.com/HSbjQ.jpg) Took this in Germany yesterday – Tommy Barry Aug 15 '19 at 10:00
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    Your title doesn't match your question. Even allowing for the incorrect use of "vomitorium". Given that too, this question is a horrific hodge-podge. – AndyT Aug 15 '19 at 14:41

2 Answers2

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I did some research by myself and according to that and your comments, I really think these vomitoriums are particularly available in Switzerland.

In very traditional restaurants or in restaurants that are visited by a lot of students, a lot of Swiss restaurants have them. They are mounted on the wall approximately 1.50 meters above the floor and they have an extra strong flush and large drain. In Switzerland there are a lot of students associations (Studentenverbindungen in German) that regularly have meetings in restaurants. During these meetings they drink really a lot of beer and it is very common that some of them have to vomit because of too much alcohol. To prevent a congested toilet, these restaurants have adapted and built-in these special-purpose vomitoriums.

In other countries the student association doesn't have such a strong and old tradition and therefore it is not necessary to install vomitoriums in restaurants.

hippietrail
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RoflcoptrException
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  • Actually "a lot" is an exaggeration. I'm 40 years old, always in Switzerland, studies in Zürich and never ever seen one of them. – Matteo Aug 15 '19 at 10:15
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    Of course the original "vomitorium" in Rome was just a passageway in an amphitheatre that let people exit quickly at the end of a show. – Laconic Droid Aug 15 '19 at 11:20
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No it isn't I have just noticed one in Manchester (UK), see the attached photo.

Britain

hippietrail
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  • Never seen one before in the UK! Is this in a hostel? – Ankur Banerjee Nov 15 '11 at 12:57
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    @AnkurBanerjee No a university building –  Nov 15 '11 at 13:08
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    I'm not sure if this is really a vomitorium. To me the sink looks quite narrow and also the flushing seems not to be extra strong. For me it looks more like a place where you can empty a transportable toilet. I've seen this quite often on camping grounds. – RoflcoptrException Nov 15 '11 at 16:40
  • @Roflcoptr it is on the 3rd floor, don't think it is for transportable toilets –  Nov 15 '11 at 17:01
  • Doesn't look like a vomitorium, more like a sink to wash your clothes in. – Peter Hahndorf Jan 02 '12 at 17:57
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    No, it's used to fill buckets of water to clean the floor. That's why it has the NO DRINKING WATER sign above, and the bars allow to put and pull the bucket with less effort. The two sinks allow for quicker refills. And the flushing is a normal one, as you shouldn't have anything else than dissolved dust and water in the bucket (or if you do, you'd better get them from the basin before they enter the still quite narrow exit pipes). You can find them (sometimes hidden in a cabinet) in almost every modern place where they wash the floor, including most of the public Western buildings. – tricasse Sep 07 '12 at 00:30