“American exceptionalism takes on many forms, both flattering (our immigrant-founded start-ups) and unfortunate (our health-care prices). But perhaps no part of life in the United States is more unambiguously exceptional than this: We have so many damn bathrooms.” Derek Thompson: In the past half century, the number of bathrooms per American has doubled. (If my experience in the public restrooms in my office building are any indication, we still need more.)