Leave it to the Asians to turn men’s urinals into a game.
In the most recent development of urinal games, South Korea has introduced “Milk Jet Battle.” This game can be found in select highway rest area mens’ bathrooms. In a country where e-sports (watching people play computer games competitively) is a national pastime endorsed by the government, it is perhaps unsurprising that games should make it into the privacy of one’s bathroom.
Milk Jet Battle screenshot. Photo by Jonghwan Oh. Above the screen are the words, “Defend the dignity of men!”
According to a friend in Korea who experienced this game first-hand, the game compares the speed of one’s urine flow (m/s) as well as quantity (mL) with that of the previous person who used the stall. Unfortunately, there is no opting out- the game automatically starts once you use the urinal.
Milk Jet Battle game. Photo by PackOfWildCorgis on Reddit. The upper right sign reads, “Seeking Strong Men”
While the notion of a game measuring the strength of one’s urine may seem very odd to Westerners, it is very common in Korea to be interested about this, because power of urine flow is considered to reflect one’s general health and more specific, virility. There is even a folktale about a powerful man was one who could turn over a ceramic chamber pot with the power of his urine stream. There are many products that are marketed towards men with the specific focus towards enhancing sexual stamina- bokbunja (a type of berry) wine being one example.
Of note, Milk Jet Battle is not the first gamification of the urinal. Numerous cultures have held “pissing contests” for decades. In 2012, Sega developed a urinal game system called Toylet in Japan (Read Wired article on the Toylet here). The Toylet featured several different games, which were mostly based on the strength of the urine flow.
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