Nuclear bunker

Here’s an interesting one: a bathroom inside a Berlin nuclear bunker built during the Cold War.

It can hold 3,600 people for around 2 weeks, which is around how long they thought it’d take for radioactive fallout to settle should there have been an attack on the city. There were 4 bathrooms built within the complex, each consisting of 14 urinals & 16 toilets. There were no toilet doors on the stalls – only curtains – to prevent anyone from locking themselves inside and potentially committing suicide. Neither are there any mirrors in the bathrooms – a further safety measure to prevent the use of glass shards as a weapon. If the city water supply or built-in filtration system was to fail, there was enough water storage for 2.5 litres per person per day.

Thankfully, the bunker has never been used for its intended purpose and it’s currently part of the fascinating Story Of Berlin museum tour. Let’s hope it stays that way.

The urinal block at one of the four bathroom facilities in the bunker

Only curtains for privacy in the stalls, for fear of anyone locking themselves behind a door

No mirrors above the basins

The cramped & presumably uncomfortable bunk beds built to hold 3,600 people