Toilet Inspectors Roam Through Poland

Patrols of two, wearing white overalls, are boldly entering toilets across Poland to check whether the country is loo-ready for the 2012 EURO soccer championships.

Lots of loos pass the test, they say, but others — particularly those that date back to pre-1989 Communist days — are less enticing.

The toaketa2012.pl project, organized by a company manufacturing toilet equipment, aims to encourage ordinary Poles to join the patrols.

The project is looking ahead to 2012 when thousands of fans will come to Poland and Ukraine for the European Soccer Championships.

So far the patrols have visited 200 toilets in Poland’s six major cities and have conducted a survey among foreign tourists, which showed hotels and airports provide good quality toilets, while railway and bus stations lag behind.

The Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper commented drily that the country’s toilets were, however, still better prepared for the championship than its soccer players — who failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Euros Go Flying In The Wind

A man lost 23,000 euros to the wind when an envelope with the money he had stuck in the passenger seat pocket of his convertible blew away during a test drive in northern Germany.

The cash — in 500, 200, and 100 euro notes — fluttered across the motorway in the midst of speeding traffic near the city of Hanover, police said.

The man, 23, contacted police immediately, who then blocked the motorway in both directions for nearly half an hour. Eight police officers assisted the man in retrieving his notes and were able to recover 20,000 euros.

“The remaining 3,000 euros have not been found,” a police spokeswoman said, but warned treasure hunters of searching for any bills and keeping them, saying that was illegal.