Peeing is a common physiological necessity. We tend to pee to relieve ourselves even in odd places when forced to. However, there are some places where you should never ever attempt to pee. In this article, check out ten such places that you should absolutely avoid.

01. Amazon River

Never think of peeing in the Amazon River because of Candiru, a tiny parasite catfish. You might be wondering how a catfish can cause harm to us and how that can stop us from peeing when swimming in the Amazon. Read on.

Candiru dwells in the depths of the Amazon. The fish does not attack in batches like the piranha. In fact, it is one of tiniest vertebrates in the world. Candiru is typically a parasite. Generally, humans are not its preferred hosts, but there are unfortunate tales about human beings being attacked by the fish. Candiru resides on the dark basin of the Amazon River and closely follows its neighboring fishes. It is quite dark at the riverbed and the Candiru need not see. It can sense its prey with the traces of Ammonia and Urea that are left when the prey exhales.  The prey can hardly detect the Candiru as it is translucent and near invisible due to its small size. When the prey exhales, the Candiru dashes towards the exposed gill of the prey and swiftly takes up a position. It then makes a hole and quickly sucks blood to its full content and withdraws gradually. The injury of the prey often is so deep that it often succumbs to death.

“these are the ones that swim upstream if you pee in the water. (surgery is the only way to get them out)” – Road Trip

When a human urinates while bathing in the mighty Amazon, he or she might fall victim to the Candiru accidentally. Candiru might find its way up and it is highly difficult and painful to pull it off. In case of humans, the Candiru cannot find its way out and it becomes resident there. Expensive surgery in the urino-genital tract and days of agony can only get rid of this little enemy.

02. Electric fence and live rail

You should never ever attempt to urinate on an electric fence and live rail. People who attempted to do that have fallen victim to electrocution.

Take the case of a Polish tourist touring UK, who was killed when he attempted to pee on the live railway track. The British Police confirmed that the 41-year-old tourist walked on to the track from Platform 1 of the Vauxhall railway station. He wanted to find some lonely place to urinate, but somehow unconsciously urinated on the live rail and was electrocuted.

In another incident, a person from Texas was tangled with the electric fence when he attempted to relieve himself over the live wires after a heavy dose of beer during Christmas celebration. What a tragic end it is.

Folks, be cautious – never ever relieve yourselves over live rails and electric fences.

03. The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea, that has remained attached to the holy Bible since ages, is not a place for urination. Apart from the sacred biblical history and biblical prophecy, urinating into the Dead Sea can be very much uncomfortable and painful. Before going to those details, let us brush up a few facts on the Dead Sea.

Dead Sea, as you perhaps know, is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank on the west, and Jordon on the east. The shores of the Dead Sea are the lowest points on the earth’s surface. It is 420 meters below sea level and is 380 meters deep. It is 50 Km. long and about 16 Km. wide. It is the most saline water body in the world, having 33.7% salinity. The Dead Sea is about 9 times more saline than the oceans. Due to its salinity, nobody sinks in the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has been one of the oldest and most popular health resorts in the world.

Be careful about two things before visiting the Dead Sea. First, never attempt to pee in the Dead Sea. If you pee, you might feel excruciating pain. The pain is caused due to the high salinity. Moreover, do not shave in the morning before hitting the Dead Sea’s water. The Dead Sea’s saline waters can cause discomfort and burning sensation.

04. The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is another area where you should not pee. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest set of individual coral reefs. There are about 900 islands that extend for about 2600 kilometers and cover an estimated area of 344,400 Sq. Km. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, in the coastal Queensland, Australia.

The reef is prepared by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. The Great Barrier Reef supports biodiversity and has been selected as a World Heritage site in 1981. More than 1.5 million people visit the Great Barrier Reef annually.

Swimmers are advised against urinating while swimming in neighborhood waters. This practice can kill corals. Corals grow in low nutrient waters. If you urinate, the nutrient level in the water increases and that has negative effect on the corals. Corals eventually die when they are exposed to water mixed with urine. Not out of any physical threat, you should abstain from urinating in the Great Barrier Reef out of environmental reasons.

05. Minefield

“Signs on beach on East Falkland warning of the dangers of unexploded mines and mine fields. Falkland Islands. ©Toby Adamson/Axiom” – tobyadamson.co.uk

We should all avoid minefields and never ever attempt to go to pee on an unmarked minefield.

There are some interesting facts about landmines. Could you imagine the fact that about a staggering 110 million landmines lie underground in every continent? It would cost an estimated $33 billion to remove only the existing mines without a single one being planted extra. About 70 people are killed or injured  each day by landmines. Some countries like Afghanistan have lot of unmarked landmines. Sometimes mines are washed away and deposited on adjacent lands.

Always be on alert and stay clear from landlines. Be on watch and never venture out to pee in landmine prone areas. Gather facts from locals if you feel like. Peeing over landmines can very easily lead to an explosion that can have fatal effect.

06. Pools

Pools are public places where you should not pee. Little children easily urinate in the water; however, many adults also relish the idea of peeing in a warm, comfortable public pool. The comfort of warm water relaxes the muscles around the urinary bladder and there is always a chance of easy, urination. Moreover, nobody wants to leave the comfort of the pool just to urinate in a proper, descent manner.

Public pools are subjected to chlorine, which acts as a disinfectant. Whenever you get down into a public pool, you instantly get the stench of chlorine. Part of the chlorine is due to the concentration of induced chlorine in water, the rest of the stench comes from Ammonium Chloride. This Ammonium Chloride is formed due to the mixing of Chlorine and Ammonia arising out of urine in the pool water.

In order to make pools a better place to swim and relax and to lessen the impact of Chlorine stench, abstain from peeing in pools.

However, the well-known myth of a magical chemical that can detect the presence of urine in swimming pool water is incorrect. Actually, there is no such chemical available.

“Cobalt Beach in Tokyo Summerland. This was right before they started the artificial waves which they did every 30 minutes. It’s not as full otherwise. Summer 2004.” – Psiphon

07. Jelly Fish Sting

Strange as it may sound, you should never attempt to treat a jellyfish sting by urinating on it. We all know that a jellyfish sting is highly painful and lash marks appear on the affected part. There is a fictional notion that peeing is an effective remedy. However, it has no scientific basis. Urine can instigate the jellyfish to release more venom. It does more harm than good.

08. Holy Places

“Genuine sign on the quayside at Walvis Bay, Namibia.” – The Hep

The reason for not peeing in holy places is more due to spiritual and aesthetic reasons, than physiological. Why people go to holy places? People want solace, mental peace and spiritual contentment. Peeing in the holy places around the world does not go well with the spiritual sanctity and sacredness of these places. In some radical religious cultures, peeing in holy places is an offence. So do not pee in holy places and preserve the holy ambience of these places.

09. Any river, not only Amazon

In the beginning, I have already advised you not to pee in the Amazon due to Candiru. Not only Amazon, it is always safe not to pee in any river in the world. Many rivers around the world are the habitats of water snakes, spiders, Piranhas and other animals that can attack all of a sudden. The composition of the urine might provoke them to attack.

There has been incidences (some are fictional) about Piranha-like fishes attacking divers. Freshwater Puffer fish in Indonesian rivers can bite of human flesh. The best and safest practice while bathing in rivers is not to pee.

10. Public Places

“No description needed. ” – jobarracuda

Public places are one of the most unsafe places for urination. Do not try to do that. It not only looks indecent, but also can invite legal troubles. In several countries in the world, urinating in the public is considered a public nuisance. You can be booked for misconduct or even as a sex offender in some countries.

Final Word

Apart from the ten points mentioned above, there are several other parts of the world, where you should not pee. For instance, Antarctica is one such place where peeing can lead to frostbites.  Do not try to pee in jungles either. You can get victim of snakes, spiders, and other insects. Certain poisonous and thorny trees and shrubs can cause injury too.

Avoid peeing (under extreme conditions) in your pants at any cost while travelling in a bus or the local train. Apart from loss of face, you stand to lose your girlfriend or boyfriend! You perhaps have never imagined so much about the downside of peeing. Well my friend, pee with a smile in your home, office, and hygienically maintained public toilets and forget worrying!