The shocking truth about urinating in pools

Where should we urinate? Most people are likely to say, "the washroom, of course". But how about a swimming pool?

As crazy and outrageous as it sounds, urinating in swimming pools is an open secret around the world. According to a recent Travelocity survey of 9,500 vacationers from North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, 64 percent United States citizens, 58 percent Canadians, 46 percent Britons, 44 percent Germans admitted to urinating in the pool at least once or having no problem doing it secretly. A bit conservatively, only 41 percent of Chinese travellers think that is okay.

But recent inspections in Beijing showed low chlorine and high urea levels are common in outdoor swimming pools. The high level of urea is caused by swimmers' sweat and urine, which were found in pools even in previous tests. Also, most pools are believed to use cheaper and substandard chlorine and other disinfectants so as to save operational costs.