Did I make a value judgement about it either way? All I said was that it bore a resemblence to the Stones logo. Given Branson's primary business is the music industry, trying to evoke that image wouldn't be far-fetched in term of their motivation. Was a it a bad idea, you bet.

You are right, Ryan, it was similar to the big mouth cover of the Stones album:)
"Tony Blair urinals" ! LOL

Ryan, you have a good point about Mick Jagger's lips. In fact, my original thought when I saw the thing was maybe for a nightclub! BUT never for an airport lounge. I travel alot for business and often fly Virgin I just don't think it is at all in good taste.

I am not convinced that it is the Stones logo however, as the company that invented it would need to credit it as such. Besides, there's no tongue that I can see. LOL

Jor, are you actually saying you like the idea of having no choice but to relieve yourself while symbolically degrading someone? Childish, at the very least. In any case, it seemed to me disrespectful of men because it put them in that position -- so to speak -- whether or not they saw any humor in it at all. If there were something comparable in the ladies' room, (say, another form of lip-plumbing or along the lines described by Wednesday), I would consider it lacking in respect for women (as well as men). And again, childish at the very least.

Cassandra, a.k.a. Men's Bathroom Monitor, Oh please. Get off the throne. Are you going to run around the men's room and bang your book of morals over the head of men at the urinal? As for your question about my choices of releaving myself. I'm Pro Choice!!!!! \:D/

Women are more sensitive than men. This whole restroom thing is an issue with women because women get more personally involved with a restroom than men. For men its just a place to relieve themsleves and move on. Men don't make an issue out of a bathroom ficture.

Right, men don't care about bathroom fixtures.....close those lips up a bit....that'd stir it up.

Geez...it's Richard Branson. Does anyone really expect anything under the radar from him?

According to USA Today, Virgin has now "canned" (sorry) the entire idea and won't proceeed with the lips!

Here's the response I was e-mailed from Virgin in reply to my e-mail of the 16th.

"We are, of course very sorry to hear of your concerns with the design of
the urinals that were to be fitted in our clubhouse at JFK airport. We can
assure you that no offense was ever intended.

The urinals were intended to be one of the more fun and quirky features of
the new JFK Clubhouse, a project overseen by Virgin's in-house design team
led by two female designers. The urinals themselves were the idea of a
female designer, and we were surprised by the public reaction.

However, Virgin Atlantic always aims to listen to our passengers and the
general public, and as a result of the feedback we have received we will
not install the urinals in the bathroom at our new JFK clubhouse.

We trust our swift action will help restore your confidence in our company
and thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your direct
approach.

Yours sincerely,

John Riordan
Vice President, Customer Services"

I wonder what the response would have been if it was an obvious male mouth with a mustache or something?

For men its just a place to relieve themsleves and move on. Men don't make an issue out of a bathroom ficture.

Oh really????? My father, (who by the way is a professional hunter in Tanzania, Botswanna & Zimbabwe - a manly man so to speak) was recently in Amsterdam and couldn't stop talking about the 3D fly in the urnial at the airport! Evidently the purpose is to encourage better aim.

Look folks, in my opinion, we need to stop pointing fingers at each other. Of course we all have different views on this situation. Let's try to listen to each other without making someone's opinion personal.

They were designed by women? They are called "sexy urinals"? How in the heck could these things be considered sexy? Just what was their thinking on this?!? Who were these designers?