Shopping centre bosses approve 'Asian squat toilets' following cultural awareness course

[SunnySong]

Now here is a multicultural ban I can get behind.... literally.






From next week, shoppers in Rochdale who push open the cubicle door expecting the reassuring sight of a modern, clean lavatory could instead be faced with little more than a hole in the ground.

Bosses of the Greater Manchester town's Exchange mall have installed two as part of an upgrade costing several thousand pounds after attending a cultural awareness course run by a local Muslim community activist.
A familiar sight in parts of the Middle East, and still sometimes seen in France and Italy, the toilets require users to squat above them, rather than sitting.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1294630/Shopping-centre-management-install-Asian-stand-toilets-following-cultural-awareness-course.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I suspect only the young and agile can use them...

Who helps you when you fall down?

Or when you miss?

x(

[Cleita]

2. Squatting is actually healthier as the position

empties your colon better and you will need fewer aids in unblocking constipation.

[SunnySong]

19. That may be but having used one myself... (In france of all places) awkward

and dirty does not begin to describe....

[Ozymanithrax]

3. What no bidet..

to clean the filth away...

Used this style of toiled years ago in Japan.

[JBoy]

4. Am I cynical to think this is going to (literally) lead to a big mess?

[Bobbieo]

6. Those of us wjho can no longer squat had better well pee or poop before we leave the house

- whatever. Or stay home!!!! Guess this also means bars - what the hell, I quit drinking years ago.

[benld74]

5. First time the wife used one was in The Forbidden City - and she did not have a choice!!!

She said the smell of the place was the worst.

[spinbaby]

8. The modern squat toilet flushes

I've used them in Asia and they're fine. Often they have grab bars nearby for us creaky older folks.

[SunnySong]

22. Yeah but sometimes you eat mexican and well lets just say that gravity doesn't

have the last say... The ones I saw in France were absolutely disgusting.

[woodsprite]

7. Well, I'd be SOL due to my knees! n/t

[katandmoon]

9. What are you supposed to do with your clothes from the waist down?

[Habibi]

11. Wear shorts?

At least, that's how it worked when I did a China tour during high summer, and ran into a couple of these types of toilets. Easier than I thought it would be, actually. And I'm not young.

[Zanzobar]

10. Does this cultural sensitivity extend to their own homes?

I wonder how many people spend the money to put floor crappers in their own homes.

[eShirl]

18. it's probably cheaper than putting in a toilet

[Zanzobar]

21. I would guess 99.999999999 percent of households in the UK already have a toilet

They'd have to spend money to remodel. I would guess when they consider the cost of a remodel, their asses fit just alright on a stool at home, and in 20 years 99.9999999999 percent of households will still have a knee high crapper. If I'm bidding on a house with a flat crapper, the first thing I'm going to do is reduce my asking price by the cost of a shitter remodel. Most would.

[pinboy3niner]

12. Difficulty adapting to a different culture goes both ways

During the VN War, U.S. bases there employed many Vietnamese civilians. As only western toilets were available on the bases, it wasn't uncommon to discover footprints on the toilet seats.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

24. Have you ever flown Singapore Airlines?

They have an instructional diagram in the bathroom with a big cross through a dude squatting on the toilet seat.

[Better Believe It]

13. Help me! I fell down and I can't get up!

[bikebloke]

14. I first experienced them in Greece.

They are easier with shorts. I did notice how I paid strict attention to the arrangement of my clothes during the process.

In Calcutta, the word amongst backpacker travellers was that the Salvation Army Hostel had western sit-down toilets. When you've been on the road for months using squats, it was easy to gravitate there. Even to have some guy shake your foot at 5am, asking if you'd like to buy a newspaper, sir.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. And here I just installed a "comfort height toilet" in ours.

Lazy American pig-dog.

[Retrograde]

16. Most of the ones I came across in Japan were Western-style

my guide said the old-style ones were really hard to use when pregnant. I did use a few squat-style ones at temples, but the modern office buildings where I spent most of my time were all Western.

I've come across the hole-in-the-ground style in France, and they're weren't nearly as nice.

[caboose]

17. First time I went to Japan, 40 years ago, I couldn't figure out how to use those things

I went 5 days without taking a crap which was no mean feat considering they were feeding me stuff that was tasty enough but completely unidentifiable. I didn't ask because I didn't wanna know.

(there was no toilet paper which made the mystery all the more ...er, mysterious)

[jdp349]

20. I had to battle these things in Thailand

a most formidable enemy

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

23. Those things in mens room are disgusting

Since rather than make any attempt to hit the "toilet" men just piss on the wall.

[Solly Mack]

25. Been there. Done that. (Nove, Italy)