>>Potty customs in the deep, dark cellar of poo

No more squatting in Water Cube toilets?

By Liu Zhen, Wed Mar 19, 12:02 PM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing organizers are refitting the toilets at three main Olympic venues after complaints from foreign athletes about having to squat, an official said Wednesday.

Most toilets in China are still of the squat rather than sit-down variety, as spectators and competitors at recent test events in otherwise state of the art venues like the "Water Cube" aquatics center discovered.

"In my personal point of view, there are cultural differences between Chinese and Western people. Chinese are more used to squat toilets," said Yao Hui, a senior official responsible for the management of Olympic venues.

"Toilet alteration projects at the Bird's Nest (National Stadium), the Water Cube and National Indoor Stadium are ongoing and if technical conditions permit, all the toilets in these stadiums will be changed."

A similar project will be expanded to more of the 31 venues in the city, he added.

"We will change the toilets in as many as we can, especially those for the key clients, athletes, Olympic family members and the media."

Beijing has 5,200 public toilets, the Beijing Evening Post reported earlier this month, more than any city in the world.

Yao said he believed that eventually, the majority of Chinese would use the sit-down variety of toilet, as people do in large parts of the developed world.

"The Olympics is an opportunity to speed up the transition," he said.

The Beijing Olympics run from August 8 to 24.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080319/od_ ... s_odd_dc_1

So, some of you may now be wondering what exactly a "Squat Toilet" is. (We would have been wondering the same had an employee in our old office not displayed a penchant for using the Western "Sitting Toilet", if you will, as a squat toilet. How did we know this? Well, believe it or not, but the outline of footprints on an otherwise clean toilet seat is generally a dead giveaway. But that's neither here nor there.) The answer, my friends, is remarkably simple. A Squat Toilet is a toilet that is used by squatting, as opposed to sitting. Squat Toilets are still remarkably prevalent in many places around the world, including Asia and countries in Eastern Europe. And apparently squat toilets have their benefits!

-They are less expensive than Sitting Toilets and easier to clean and maintain

-The absence of water in the "bowl" avoids the problem of splashing

-And lastly, squatting can reduce the occurrence and severity of hemorrhoids!

The last reason alone is worth having one, maybe its us who should change.

LOL

River

Dave (imported) wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:01 am -And lastly, squatting can reduce the occurrence and severity of hemorrhoids!

I wonder what effect it has on the knees. I just read something about the Chinese having more knee problems than we do. Maybe the best solution would be a sit down toilet that has a foot rest that rises up to near the seat level after one sits and that goes back down when one is finished.

I'm paraplegic (if any of you out there don't know).

You have no idea of the fear and loathing a simple toilet can inspire until you're handicapped. Believe me, squatting ain't possible. and using a low riser gets my butt wet. and just think, if you fall off, your bowels won't let go, mine do just to add insult to injury. Like who wants to clean that mess up while the paramedics check you out for broken bones.

It is actually funnier than it is serious.

Fear and loathing, fear and loathing.

I lived in Southeast Asia for 13 months, squat toilets only, I can tell you that they smell. Except in good hotels they don't use the little S curve that traps water to keep the sewer smell out. But, I liked squating.

Pauline

P.S. of course that was 40 years ago. Might be different now.

My knees have not let me squat in a few decades! (injured one knee as a boy)

I was in Hong Kong earlier this year and they have both types of toilet. As I am HIV+, I have to go fairly often and I found it an absolute necessity to remove my knee-length coat before using the squat variety. NOT funny, when you are in a hurry, and some of them did not have anything to hang the coat from. The worst was one where the toilet paper was outside the cubicle and I had to estimate how much paper to take in with me!