Using public restrooms can certainly be a crapshoot. In my quest to quickly distinguish men’s from ladies’ lounges — or spotlight the creativity behind lavatory door design — here’s more signage I found clogging my phone.
Unfortunately, I forget where I shot this first pair. Based on the embedded info, it was around the time I reviewed “Forever Plaid” at Olney Theatre Center. So let’s call it that. (If my theater dates recall where we went out drinking afterward, that may provide a clue.)
Penelope Cruz is instantly recognizable … but who’s the guy (below)? Anybody? Looks like a young Paul Newman. Please let me know your theories in the comments.
If you had to choose someone emblematic to mark a restroom male or female, who would you choose? Also curious: How is a user supposed to know that the guy isn’t intended to lure in the females, and vice versa?
Am I missing a joke here? So many questions … so few readers … so unlikely to get a response. (Is there an echo in here? That’s why I like bathrooms.)

Mystery guy … who? This signage MAY be on the Olney Theatre Center’s men’s room door. I can’t remember. (2013 Photo by Terry Byrne)
Meanwhile, this sign in the stall at Smashburger in Fairfax, Va., earns a rave review.
And given this is Oscar nominations week, let’s shine the spotlight on the bathrooms at Bow Tie Cinemas in Reston, Va. Simple branding, symmetrical aesthetic … if they gave out Academy Awards for bathroom doors, this coulda been a contender.
FOR MORE PUZZLING BATHROOM DOORS:
• Donde esta el bano, por favor?
• The lady or the tiger? Still wrestling with restroom doors
How about you? Seen any gems to share?