The Who Loo: TARDIS Toilet On Cycle Path


She’s known on sight the world over. The TARDIS shows up everywhere, proving that the 50-year-old icon still has what it takes to thrill and excite the fans. With or without her Time Lord. She’s found all over the U.K., of course, in gardens and on street corners.

Now, at a South Gloucestershire railside stop on the Bristol to Bath cycle path, the TARDIS is catching the attention of visitors to the Warmley Waiting Room cafe.

The cafe’s owners, fans of the Doctor Who television show, purchased a TARDIS replica on eBay for £1,800 ($2,983). They spent £1,500 ($2,486) on amenities; the end result is a public toilet which looks distinctly Victorian — if you ignore the electric hand dryer.

Justin and Claire Hoggans had seen other unique uses for the TARDIS and decided that customers would love a loo that is an instant reminder of the long-running science fiction franchise.

Justin spoke with the Bristol Post about his TARDIS-shaped toilet, which was built by a carpenter in the city of York:

“Lots of people, young and old, seem to love it — it’s a talking point and a bit of fun, but also functional. We get asked numerous times a day, ‘Is it bigger on the inside?'”

The toilet is drawing fans who have discovered its existence. The owners outfitted their TARDIS loo to be as realistic as possible, considering that she’s only a replica. The light on her roof is operated by motion sensor, clicking on when the toilet is in use. Better yet, the TARDIS’ iconic noise can be operated from within the cafe, so that the Hoggans can tickle the fancy of visitors who stop to take a selfie with the legendary blue box.

These days, she might also be a neighborhood’s free library kiosk:

Some neighborhoods are installing free libraries; the TARDIS has been used for several.

Or she could turn up as someone’s refrigerator:

Time Lord Technology means it’s bigger on the inside for storing all those left-overs

Images of her have appeared in such popular television shows such as Spaced, The Simpsons, and Red Dwarf. She’s in comic books, cartoons, graphic novels, video games, and on an Iron Maiden album cover from 1986.

In 1986, Iron Maiden’s album Somewhere In Time was a homage to science fiction time travel.

A garden shed contest held annually in the U.K. always gets dozens of TARDIS entries.

The garden shed might double as your car garage if you’ve properly installed the dimensionally transcendental software

On Google maps, she can be found at 236 Earl’s Court Road in London; there, as an easter egg, you can enter the TARDIS and find a 360-degree view of her interior.

Unassuming on the street, the TARDIS waits for visitors.

A blue Police Box is difficult to ignore, particularly in the country where she has become part of a shared cultural history.

Doctor Who first appeared in 1963, and has always had its fans and followers. The program carries the record for being the longest-running science fiction show in the world. The TARDIS has come to represent the show for a variety of platforms as an icon that is easily identified.

The new series begins today, August 23, with the first episode of a new Doctor’s tenure. A new Doctor’s first series is always a time for rumors and speculation, analysis and excitement — but while the Doctor might change his face, the TARDIS stays relatively the same in shape and color, remaining a constant by which the Time Lord’s friends and foes can identify him.

To find more TARDISes, you can visit a site devoted to displaying examples of the famous timeship.

As of yet, no one has found a TARDIS that can really travel through space and time, but we know where the toilet is.

[Image Courtesy of The Bristol Post]

Share this article: The Who Loo: TARDIS Toilet On Cycle Path
More from Inquisitr