Asian

Toilet Trivia

Toilets filled with water aren’t usually the first thing you’d think would catch on fire. Earlier this month, some bidets in Japan defied common knowledge and their manufacturer Toto is in the “hot seat” so to speak. Sorry I just couldn’t resist. “The fire would have been just under your buttocks,” said a company representative. “Fortunately nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out and there were no injuries”. Although, who would really admit it. It’s no secret that Japan is crazy for high-tech flushes (although oddly most public restrooms are “bring your own” toilet paper and soap and involve squatting over a hole or fixture in the floor) and the model in question features a pulsating massage spray, tornado wash flush, auto opening/closing lid, and power dryer. Toto is offering free repairs to 180,000 fixtures.

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Some Japanese women are so afraid of someone overhearing them tinkle that they continuously flush to drown out the perfectly natural sound everybody makes. In attempts to save precious water, a device dubbed Otohime or Sound Princess that emulates a loud flushing sound have been installed in public restrooms. “They considered music, chirping birds and a trickling stream,” said Taiki Kiyosue, a Toto employee in the sales and planning division. “But after conducting a survey of female employees, they finally settled on a flushing toilet.” Apparently it isn’t a modern phobia. A 15th century spigotted artifact’s sole purpose was to disguise plinkles. In the 17th century, attendants of aristrocratic women swished and dropped balls of dirt into water. What a crazy job.

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$3000+ for a toilet?? Sure, if it’s the Kohler Purist Hatbox potty and you’re buying. It’s tankless. That’s pretty cool. Kohler is so proud of it, they’ve trademarked a few of its features: Comfort Height™ bowl and Quiet-Close™ toilet seat. But are those attributes you could guarantee?

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The Treebog composting toilet concept is so cool. Imagine you are sitting in a forest, surrounded by lush green nettles. The leaves rustle in the wind and you feel a zen calm envelop you. For a few moments you are at one with the earth; the trees rely on you and you are the selfless saint who feeds them. *Plop!* You’ve just fed them. No joke, there are waterless toilets designed to feed the plants around them as feces is converted to biomass. Not only that, some people even build structures to house their Treebogs that collect rainwater for handwashing. Wow. I feel so guilty since I prefer to poop indoors.

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Mmm. What could be more appetizing than slurping soup out of a toilet-shaped bowl? Why, sitting on commode stools under urinal sconces and slurping soft serve chocolate ice cream out of a toilet-shaped bowl, of course. The Marton (Chinese for “toilet”) novelty restaurant in Taiwan was inspired by a Japanese cartoon featuring a flying lavatory-looking spaceship. It’s a hangout for youngins who like to gross each other out whilst dining. There’s also the less kitchy, more elegant W’Duck eatery in Portugal where w.c.’s replace chairs and toilet paper replaces all linens.