Pee-Repellent Paint Splashes Back At Public Urination In San Francisco

Legend has it that rock icon Ozzy Osbourne urinated on the Alamo in 1982, and was arrested and banned from playing San Antonio as a result. Osbourne, the story goes, was drunk and couldn't get to a proper bathroom, a dilemma many San Franciscans apparently are facing. The city is having a public urination problem and is pulling out a secret weapon to fight it: water-repellent paint that splashes back at culprits.

San Francisco Public Works has been painting walls with a hydrophobic coating called Ultra-Ever Dry, made by UltraTech International. With an initial investment of a few hundred dollars for the special coating, San Francisco is saving thousands because it doesn't have to steam clean walls, the Associated Press reported. A three-story-tall light post fell due to years of corrosion caused by urine of both the human and dog variety.

"There's a lot less activity, and the result is noticeable," Kevin Sporer, San Francisco Public Works' superintendent of building repair, told AP. The city had implemented $500 fines for public urination, but that proved to be little deterrence. Public Works director Mohammed Nuru modeled the new program on that of the St. Pauli area of Hamburg, Germany. The district is known for its nightlife, and drunken crowds often leave their stamp. A group of residents started painting the most frequented walls with Ultra-Ever Dry to curb the behavior, the Guardian reported.

Perhaps the only drawback to the San Francisco plan are the signs warning would-be users about the treated walls, thus ruining the element of surprise.

As for Osbourne, his reputation needs to be cleared slightly. While he did commit the act, he did not do it on the walls of the Alamo but across the street at the Cenotaph, a monument dedicated to the fallen, according to the Boston Herald. Osbourne donated $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas when he returned to San Antonio in 1992.