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Toilets of the World
- guidedlight 7y agoSo many toilets, and it completely misses the Dual Flush Toilet used universally in Australia & New Zealand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_flush_toilet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_flush_toilet Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryIQYYogQ8A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryIQYYogQ8A
- rsynnott 7y agoAre these not used basically everywhere now? Most new installations in Ireland seem to use one, and the not-super-up-to-date (has an analog-in TV!) French hotel room I’m in at the moment has one.
- klez 7y agoYep, in Italy as well, at least in relatively recent installations.
- edgarvaldes 7y agoThese are getting increasingly common in Mexico, also.
- dancek 7y agoThe site actually does have a page about dual flush toilets. https://toilet-guru.com/dual-flush.php https://toilet-guru.com/dual-flush.php
- guidedlight 7y agoInteresting I can't see it on the main page (but it's in the HTML source). Also the page misses the Australian connection.
- blhack 7y agoThese are standard in all the new constructions I see in Arizona.
- RandallBrown 7y agoDual flush toilets are extremely common in the united states. I haven't seen a toilet installed in the last 5+ years that isn't dual flush. That said, the Australian style flush is pretty different than most of the toilets I see in the US. I was in a hotel in Boulder CO and thought my toilet flushed pretty weird, so I googled the brand (Caroma) and fell into a rabbit hole of toilet information. The one in that hotel regularly required two flushes to clear my waste, so I'm not sure I really buy the advantages of the Australian style vs the siphon flush I'm used too.
- Keverw 7y agoI've heard of Dual flush toilets, but never seen any in real life. Maybe more common in places with a drought or bigger cities. I've seen a bunch with sensors that automatically flush though, I've figured that's the most common in commercial spaces.
- skc 7y agoI'm embarrassed to admit that I have this in my home and never figured out why the flush button was split in two!
- olalonde 7y agoSame (I live in China). I actually had to double check it was split in two because I wasn't sure, muscle memory I guess.
- timthorn 7y agoThe cubicles aren't really covered by the website, but I'm always struck by how little privacy is afforded by the dividing walls in toilets in the USA.
- klez 7y agoI've never visited the US, so I'm curious about what you mean. Is it the fact that they are thin and have nothing above and under? Because that's how they are here in Italy as well, at least in certain train stations, on highways and other high usage places.
- codeulike 7y agoI've never visited the US, so I'm curious about what you mean. The vertical gap between the floor and where the cubicle wall starts is huge. Like, knee height. So weird.
- hvs 7y agoKnee height? I live in the US and have never seen this. I would say closer to ankle height.
- montypythonxxx 7y agoi think the train station in Newark, NJ has them. Something about people ODing on the floor and no one finding out.
- perfectstorm 7y agoI wonder why ODing is not a problem in rest of the world. If I were to guess it's to save money and not becuase they were concerned about some random dude ODing.
- asark 7y ago
- 11235813213455 7y agoSadly, it's terrible to use some clean tap water for processing poo, it uses a lot of energy and resources to clean that water afterwards. Dry toilets/compost make a lot more sense
- twic 7y agoI haven't read the article yet, so apologies if this is covered, but the new Bloomberg office in London has vacuum toilets, like on an aeroplane, which don't use any clean water: https://www.bloomberg.com/careers/blog/eco-friendly-features-bloombergs-new-european-headquarters/ https://www.bloomberg.com/careers/blog/eco-friendly-features...
- nsajko 7y agoComposting human fecal matter seems like a very bad idea hygienically, because of parasites (flatworms, roundworms, protozoa, etc.).
- pella 7y ago# OpenStreetMap query toilets - mini tutorial for data science people : - go https://overpass-turbo.eu https://overpass-turbo.eu ( OSM Overpass query service ) - add "Wizard" query: "amenity=toilets in Berlin" + press "build and run query" - check the results on the map: https://overpass-turbo.eu/s/L0m https://overpass-turbo.eu/s/L0m - "export" --> "download/copy as GeoJSON" # OpenStreetMap toilets - Geographical distribution https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags/?key=amenity&value=toilets#map https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags/?key=amenity&value=to... # OpenStreetMap toilets docs: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:amenity%3Dtoilets https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:amenity%3Dtoilets
- canada_dry 7y agoPardon the interruption... I've been scratching my head over a similar query. What if you want to get OSM/OVERPASS to show all toilets within 1km of a navigation route (i.e. 1km from any point along the path). Is this even possible?
- pella 7y agoprobably yes. see "examples" ( https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_API/Overpass_API_by_Example https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_API/Overpass_AP... ) and search for "around" key or "around" documentation: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_API/Overpass_QL#Relative_to_other_elements_.28around.29 https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_API/Overpass_QL...
- vhsim 7y agoWebsite by George Costanza.
- klez 7y agoI doubt it's the character from Seinfeld, so should this name ring a bell or is it just you found the name funny?
- icebraining 7y agoI think it is the character from Seinfeld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYVBRQ7t46g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYVBRQ7t46g
- codeulike 7y agoRelated: Twin Your Toilet with another one somewhere in the world https://www.toilettwinning.org/latrine/1/ https://www.toilettwinning.org/latrine/1/
- ArtDev 7y agoHere in Japan, I found a new button at a convenient store restroom labeled "toilet sound".
- PinkMilkshake 7y agoThey are used to mask the sound of you doing business. Some play music and some play the sound of running water. I personally don't care for that particular feature, but Japan produces the best toilets in the world. If I ever own a home, I'll import a top of the line Toto.
- pier25 7y agoIt looks more modern, but this website has some late 90s Geocities feels.
- magic_beans 7y agoAs an American with ulcerative colitis, bar bathrooms in the UK were a blessing. I wish the US would improve its toilet situation.
- unixhero 7y agoWhat's a bar bathroom and what is special about it in the UK?
- magic_beans 7y agoBar bathrooms are bathrooms in bars. In the US (NYC), they are usually disgusting. In the UK they were always clean and private.
- Keverw 7y agohaha, I been watching travel videos and was thinking about toilets in different countries. Was thinking of making a site like this, as kinda more of a joke but also interesting. I think squatting down to potty just seems different and nasty. Plus elder people and people with disabilities a challenge too probably for them. Seen something that somewhere in China some place have like stalls with a trough running though you squat over. So you are squatting to take a poop while someone else's waste is going under you. Better not fall! Didn't know some places had porcelain toilets with the seats removed. Then some places in the world don't use toilet paper, but their left hand and water. Didn't know Japan had squat toilets too, I always envisioned the high tech ones being everywhere. I think Japan has the coolest toilets though out of any place, seems like a product Apple would of designed. Also something that surprised me in Europe they have toilets you pay to use, which I guess encourages them to be cleaner... but someone from the US used to free bathrooms at pretty much any retail store. I want to travel the world someday when the money is there, and one of the things that is discouraging. Plus being a super picky eater. But want to go see the pyramids, great wall of China and stuff you've always seen on TV. I know there's some world cruises, even some advertising as a circumnavigation cruise of the earth so probably be more of my style of travel. Board a huge boat somewhere in the US, and spend half a year non stop seeing things and then back. No long flights, delays, limited new food choices, etc.
- asark 7y ago> Plus being a super picky eater Took deliberate effort (training, even) but I got over this. I can't eat just anything (nothing with bones I'm expected to crunch on, or a clear face, please—I can do [love, even!] fish skin-on and could probably manage with the head on too but I won't eat the head, ya know?) but I can eat all kinds of "weird crap" that sure, lots of Americans will eat, but many (most in some cases?) think is super-gross. Calamari, those little whole octopi, all kinds of sushi including some of the weirder ones, most any stinky cheese, beef marrow. Just about whatever. Haven't done bugs yet but could probably manage. And that's just the notable stuff I'm up to, go back far enough and I wouldn't eat most "normal" food either! What I basically do is just shut off the part of my brain that was judging stuff as it went in my mouth. Probably people are picky for all kinds of reasons, but in my case, it was that. I was really picky. Now, I'm fine, but I still have to consciously repress it when trying some new things (if it's good, and most things are, it's much easier to have it again). Possibly some time working on Stoic non-judging helped make this easier, dunno. It seems to be much easier when I'm out of my ordinary surroundings. With one or more other people, out at a restaurant, while traveling is ideal, though any of those helps. I don't prepare "weird" food myself for a first try, though I will prepare most "normal" things that I used to not be able to eat—was very picky, I'm telling you. Still not sold on Mexican food of the smothered-in-melty-cheese variety, or pretty much any casserole, but I reckon I've earned a couple quirks so I'm not worried about getting over those. I'm never gonna be a big-hunk-of-oven-roast-or-crockpotted-meat fan like big hams or thanksgiving turkey, I've decided, though I can make myself eat it to be polite (couldn't before).
- drak0n1c 7y agoInteresting tidbit - in Ancient Greece shops and traders collected human and animal urine as it has ammonium salts, essential for scouring and cleaning wool. https://toilet-guru.com/pompeii.php https://toilet-guru.com/pompeii.php
- KozmoNau7 7y agoAged urine or "chamber lye" was also used for cleaning clothes (as a soak before washing with soap) until detergents took over.
- userbinator 7y agoToilets, along with a few other plumbing fixtures, have a "UI" that has not changed much for over a century. While the details may be different, I doubt anyone wouldn't know how to use this toilet if they were suddenly transported back in time to the 1920s: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/3067417509 https://www.flickr.com/photos/cbustapeck/3067417509 The bathtub or sink would equally be unlikely to puzzle, and remain very familiar. Yet in the software industry, it seems very common to drastically alter the UI in a timescale of only a few years to even months, confusing basically the entire userbase. As software becomes more ubiquitous and relied upon, one wonders if it will ever attain the same levels of UX stability that many other inventions have gained over the years.
- flukus 7y agoDual flush systems on the other hand are horribly non standardized an inconsistent: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dual+flush+buttons&kp=1&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dual+flush+buttons&kp=1&iar=images... On some you press the big section for the big flush, on others you have to press the big and small, sometimes the half flush is the bigger "default" button and others can be confusing with nested levels of depressions to mark them. Throw in no directional standard like the half flush being on the left and the whole things one big (pardon the pun) crap shoot.
- switch007 7y agoThe most annoying, as you said, is the hidden, third flush (the one that uses all the water): press and hold the big button.
- JetSpiegel 7y ago> Toilets, along with a few other plumbing fixtures, have a "UI" that has not changed much for over a century. The human bottom hasn't changed since time immemorial. Plus, every human has similarly shaped buttocks. Computers interact with the mind, this means they are subjective, it's a moving target.
- alister 7y agoHere’s a toilet puzzle for you: Why don’t toilets in Brazil flush as efficiently as those in the United States and Canada? In Brazil it’s pretty standard to have a waste paper basket beside the toilet for throwing away toilet paper. Hotels and restaurants will have signs asking you to not flush toilet paper. In the USA and Canada nobody worries about flushing toilet paper. The answer to this question is not obvious. Even luxurious toilets in expensive hotels do not flush as nicely as in Canada/US. It’s not a cultural or environmental thing to not flush toilet paper —- toilets really do get clogged very easily and getting rid of the toilet paper might take multiple flushes. I’ve seen Brazilian toilets that pass a lot of water per flush but still don’t work well. My current theories are that either Brazil uses narrower diameter drain pipes or that they have a more elongated P-trap than in the US and Canada. Someday I hope to run into a master plumber who’s worked in both Brazil and North America to tell me what the difference is. EDIT: The Quora link below says that the same problem happens in Mexico because the Y-fitting under the toilet doesn’t have graceful curves compared to US fittings and/or the drain is not sufficiently vented, so the toilet water flows slower. Both of these also sound like plausible theories.
- discordance 7y agoThis doesn't need a master plumber to answer the question. This occurs in a lot of the developing world. Older sewerage systems weren't designed to accommodate the stuff we flush down in the west. Aside from older toilets that don't have the water flow design of contemporary systems that were designed to accept paper + waste, blockages down stream effect the flow of toilets upstream.
- alister 7y agoNo, even toilets in new buildings don’t flush well. I mentioned that I’ve seen toilets that pass a great deal of water—-more than is typical in the US and Canada—-and still can’t get rid of a bundle of toilet paper. Blockages downstream may or may not happen, but that’s irrelevant to my question because the toilets do flush, the water leaves immediately (implying that the drain pipe is clear and nothing is backed up from downstream), but the waste and paper don’t leave as quickly. The problem has to be something at or near the toilet. As I said, I suspect narrower drain pipes or deeper and longer P-traps.
- miguelmota 7y agoThe toilet snorkel could save your life https://toilet-guru.com/snorkel.php https://toilet-guru.com/snorkel.php
- hycaria 7y agoI dream of trying these https://www.trone.paris/en https://www.trone.paris/en
- supr_strudl 7y agoOh, this belongs here - Slavoj Žižek on toilets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzXPyCY7jbs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzXPyCY7jbs
- theandrewbailey 7y agoI clicked on the 'Germany' link, expecting to see a Zizek toilet, but was disappointed.
- Bla2e 7y agoI still prefer the Indian commode toilet instead of the Western one due to the ease in clearing my stomach!
- piceas 7y agoFor Aussie loo info see the Australian National Public Toilet Map https://toiletmap.gov.au/ https://toiletmap.gov.au/
- kwanbix 7y agoI honestly don't understand how people can live without bidets.
- samhh 7y agoI agree, and I grew up in a country where they're very rare (UK) and still don't have one. I love holidaying in Europe. Bidets, bidets everywhere.
- ciupicri 7y agoUK is part of Europe.
- throw0101a 7y agoDon't tell that to Nigel Farage.
- ciupicri 7y agoAs far as I know Nigel Farage wants out of the economic, political, etc European Union, not out of the geographical continent. By the way, parts of Turkey and Russia are also in Europe.
- samhh 7y agoMainland Europe. Come on, it was obvious what I meant.
- anoncake 7y agoWere in Europe are bidets common? I've never seen one in Germany.
- Pigo 7y agoDon't be afraid to hop in the shower real quick if you have a nasty event. Doesn't mean you have to have a full shower.
- yboris 7y agoVery related: Toilets around the world: Dollar Street (by GapMinder.org) https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street/matrix?thing=Toilets https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street/matrix?thing=Toilets
- chrischen 7y agoThe China section is missing the “trough in the ground” squatting toilets. A single trough has water flowing in it washing everyone's poops down the stalls and you can see it all under you as you squat.
- DarkContinent 7y agoAn entire article about Chinese toilets, and no mention of four star toilets (or three star, or one star). I am so disappointed. https://www.tour-beijing.com/blog/china-travel/plan-china-trip/how-to-use-the-toilets-in-china/attachment/4-star-rated-toilet-issured-by-beijing-tourism-administration https://www.tour-beijing.com/blog/china-travel/plan-china-tr...
- canada_dry 7y agoWhen I was in Beijing I sought out western toilets. Near the Olympic park there's a Starbucks that I figured was a sure bet. There was even the familiar toilet picture on the door! Nope... it was a squat hole. Psych!
- nickjj 7y agoReminds me of what the 2600 magazine did with payphones. The back cover of every issue would have a few payphones from a various country / city. Here's a full list: https://www.2600.com/payphones https://www.2600.com/payphones
- geordieboozer 7y agoI run a photo blog of pub toilets (UK based) which may be of interest: https://www.pubtoilets.co.uk/ https://www.pubtoilets.co.uk/
- ntzm 7y agoThese are all a lot cleaner than my locals hahaha
- subpixel 7y agoThe texts on this site are so search-engine-optimized one might be tempted to refer to it as an SEO toilet.