In 1970, four high school students started an organization to eliminate pay toilets in the United States and succeeded. They were fed up with pay toilets on the New Jersey turnpike. The organization was called the Committee to End Pay Toilets in America (CEPTIA). The had an anthem, a newsletter, and a logo. It was bankrolled by $25.20 (or $148.30 in today’s dollars) and membership cost a quarter.

There first meeting was in the Dayton Public Library where 29 out of 48 members were in attendance, although it almost didn’t happen because the librarians were concerned that there was no grown up.

At the same time legislation started to occur to eliminate the pay toilets, but none passed.

In 1973, the now college students held a press conference in the downtown Chicago Sheraton hotel where they explained the situation and their reasoning to get rid of the pay toilets and explaining four ways to circumvent the payment. About 30 reporters from every major local paper and some national papers attended.

By 1976, CEPTIA declared victory with many anti-pay toilet bills being passed around the country. By the 80s very few remained.