High-speed device captures aerosol spray of urine, feces after flushes

It’s a cootie confetti bomb of a study that begs the question: Why aren’t we wearing face masks every time we use the restroom?

Thanks (or no thanks) to a group of engineering researchers at Florida Atlantic University, we can now see just how a flushing toilet prompts an airborne swirl of feces, urine and vomit in restrooms. Each flush of a commode or urinal can send “tens of thousands” of diseased pathogen particles flying out of the bowl and into your purview, the new study revealed. These findings could — and should — inform on how public restroom design can be made safer, particularly during a pandemic, researchers found.