Hamburg has found a clever way to deter revelers from urinating in public

Hamburg&#039;s St. Pauli district is fighting back against public urination

(Image credit: Reuters/YouTube)

published 12 March 2015

The Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany — sometimes called "the most sinful mile in the world" — smells like a sewer after a night of club-hopping and drinking. A group of residents in the central St. Pauli district, which houses the Reeperbahn's strip clubs, bars, and brothels, are fighting back, using a high-tech water-repellant paint called Ultra-Ever Dry to deter the men who relieve themselves on the neighborhood's walls and buildings. When you pee on walls now, "St. Pauli pees back," explained a member of the IG St. Pauli group footing the bill for the paint. Watch the walls in action in Reuters' video below. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.