Larry Craig's arrest has made a
toilet in the Minneapolis-St. Paul
Airport a popular tourist spot.
David B. Moye
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (TNA) – If you crap there, they will come. That seems to be the motto for a certain type of toilet tourist.
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Larry Craig's arrest has made a |
But the infamous Craig commode is just one of a long line of loos that attract visitors, according to guide book writer Chris Epting.
He writes books chock full of the tourist attractions that most visitor bureaus neglect to mention, and he is making sure to include the john where Craig was a john in his next book.
“I love how it’s become an ‘anti-tourist tourist attraction,’” Epting said. “It doesn’t matter if Craig finds a cure for cancer, he’ll forever be linked with that toilet.”
Still, as far as celebrity toilets go, Craig’s commode will probably pale in popularity compared to other infamous bathrooms, such as the public bathroom at the Will Rogers Park in Beverly Hills, Calif., where George Michael was arrested in April, 1998, for “engaging in a lewd act.”
Basically, he flashed an undercover officer and he was eventually fined $810 and sentenced to 80 hours of community service.
Michael may have put the arrest behind him, but, nine years later, Epting says the bathroom still attracts it’s share of lookie-loos.
“I think it’s because the scandal happened pre-internet,” Epting said. “Nowadays, it might not be as big a deal. But whenever Michael’s name creeps out, that bathroom is always mentioned.”
Epting says the infamous toilet is hard to miss – “It’s the only men’s room in the park” – but laments that officials have yet to place a plaque commemorating the “commode-tion.”
That’s not the case at other infamous bathrooms, such as the stall at Reilly Stadium in Salem, Ohio, which has a plaque honoring the exact spot where John F. Kennedy once took a leak.
“[The plaque] was put there as a spoof, but it is still there,” Epting said.
There is also a plaque in the bathroom of the Benvenuto Café in Santa Monica, Calif., honoring Doors lead singer Jim Morrison.
No, he didn’t do anything nasty there, but he did record the vocals for “L.A. Woman” in the tiny toilet. The lyrics of the song are still there and Epting says fans should try to sing them when using the facilities in order to get an idea of the acoustics.
He recommends music lovers do the same if they visit the CBS Studios on Sunset Boulevard because that’s where the Beach Boys did the background vocals for “Good Vibrations.”
One celebrity toilet that could be rising in popularity is the female stall at the Les Doux bar in Hollywood. It was there that Lindsay Lohan was photographed doing lines of cocaine in one of the stalls.
Still, Epting doesn’t expect it to overtake Craig’s commode any time soon.
“The difference is, Lohan wasn’t arrested, so it isn’t as official as the bathroom where Craig was arrested,” Epting said.
But the most infamous celebrity toilet is one you’ll probably never get to see: the one in Graceland where Elvis Presley was sitting when he died in 1977.
“It’s not open to the public,” Epting lamented. “It’s not even open to celebrities. It’s truly a sacred spot and the Holy Grail of celebrity toilets.”