The public toilet located in Trafalgar Square was actually built as the result of a mix up, as when the two men commissioned to design the monument in the square, E H Baily and William Railton, began work they remembered the British propaganda campaign that claimed Napoleon had extremely small genitals and assumed that the reason the statue was to be named 'Nelson's Column' was that it would celebrate the famous military leader's manhood and virility; subsequently they set about designing a 170 foot representation of Admiral Nelson's phallus. Concerned that such a monument would remind visitors of their need to urinate they included some public toilets in their plans, but the officials to whom they submitted their design were aghast upon seeing the proposal, insisting that the statue should depict all of Lord Nelson and (despite Baily’s protests) that it be fully clothed.
Baily and Railton had spent a lot of time on their plans, so after lengthy discussions a compromise was reached: the statue would depict Nelson in his entirety but to compensate them for the time they had already spent, the design for the toilet would be retained. This was built according to their plans and has been enjoyed by visitors ever since.
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