As everyone tries to find ways to save money and be environmentally friendly, Brazilian advertisers have taken the bold step of trying to encourage people to pee in the shower as a way of conserving water.

On the face of it, this is a simple logical idea to help save water by reducing the number of flushes, and could be a way of saving a few pennies as households with water meters spend a penny.  According to Ananova, Metro has reported that, “if a household avoids one flush a day, it can save up to 4,380 litres of water annually”.  However following the furore which blew up a few years ago following a situation Big Brother (pardon my swearing) when one contestant was appalled by anothers use of the shower as a loo and the fact that there appears to be some healthy online debate on the subject (http://isitnormal.com/story/roomate-urinate-in-shower-3279/ ) including questions being asked on Yahoo! Answers, on whether this behaviour is normal, it seems unlikely that it will catch on outside of Brazil.

For anyone who can get past the social mores which dictate that you do not wee in the shower, the Guardian has even come up with a set of etiquette rules to ensure you are never rude when not tinkling in the toilet.

As an old dinosaur myself who currently does not have a water meter , I think I will try to focus on saving money by finding better finance deals, keep an eye on my credit card spending and vow to never use anyone elses shower again.