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India's Hosting the World Toilet Summit
This headline sounds like it's a joke, but it's actually quite serious -- The World Toilet Summit has plans to convene in New Delhi later this month to discuss the john, the throne, the bog, the loo -- whatever you call it, it's where most of us do our business. But it's the 'most of us' part that's troubling the WTS -- they'd like to make toilets accessible to everyone by 2025. A lofty goal? Maybe. But it would make the world a safer place -- defecating in open places is one of the biggest ways that fatal diseases are spread. And it would sure make travelling a lot more fun for westerners who are particular about where they spend a penny.
So I have to wonder -- by toilets, do they mean actual sit down toilets? Or are squatties considered toilets? I've seen some very nice squatties in my travels, but none is as welcoming as a loo like the one at home.
Gallery: Disgusting Toilets
Filed under: Festivals and Events, India
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Willy Oct 17th 2007 10:41AM
Heh ... I hope that's not a shot of YOUR loo at home.
Anyway, considering much of the world does not have access to plumbing, I'm certain they include pit latrines or "squatties" in their definition of "toilets."
johnjmaes Oct 22nd 2007 7:25AM
reinventing the pot. what an adventure
Christopher Oct 22nd 2007 7:30AM
I have seen worst in the Philippines. Booths are set up along side of the road for men to use.
Lori Oct 22nd 2007 7:58AM
I sure hope my tax dollars aren't paying for any of this.
fRANKIE Oct 22nd 2007 8:45AM
INDIA... PERFECT LOCATION, SHOW THEM HOW TO USE THE DAMN THING WHILE YOUR AT IT. THEY USUALLY JUST TAKE A DUMP ON THE RAILROAD TRACKS SO THE PASSING TRAINS CAN MOVE THE SMELL DOWN THE LINE... AS AN AMERICAN, I LOVE THE SIGHT OF SIX INDIANS, SANDALS OFF STANDING IN THE BATHROOM SINKS AT WORK WASHING THEIR FEET... DISGUSTING BUT THESE ARE THE ENLIGHTENED PEOPLE, YEAH RIGHT
Pat Oct 22nd 2007 8:47AM
I drove a bus for 12 years and had people from India for a charter. My bus was a mess because they peed on the floor. They are the most filthy people I ever had on a charter.
Jodytree9 Oct 22nd 2007 8:48AM
Dang!.......This mean I gotta git rid of my outhouse?.....and I was just gonna move it closer so the walk wouldn't be so bad in the bad weather!
Jesse Oct 22nd 2007 9:26AM
Ever used a "Pissitorium" in the streets of Amsterdam? You go into this 'see thru' spiral thing to a latrine trough. Nowadays, they have different ones that you go right up to and piss - right in public as the public passes right by you standing there, pissing! Shocking. You see their entire body, head to toe, just like they were standing in front of a latrine in this country. The only difference is that it wraps only slightly around your front side.
Pissitorium: http://travelpete.com/gfx/lifestyle/bathrooms/dutch-public-urinal-toilet.jpg
Sammy Oct 22nd 2007 9:28AM
Seen them all, used them (emergency)-----they are unbelievable. Worst? Inside the Hermitage in Russia. I still gag thinking about the experience. A folded up head scarf held over my face didn't quite cut the odor.
Brendie Oct 23rd 2007 3:12PM
I just wish they would make the toilets taller, not so low to the floor.
phil Oct 22nd 2007 9:52AM
I was in India 1991, on buisness,my friend requested toilet paper, purchased a case [48]rolls cost me 250.00 dollars for shipping.best gift he ever recieved.
BJOXT45 Oct 22nd 2007 9:59AM
How about we get the world access to proper sanitation and plumbing ? Re-inventing the toilet is like re-inventing the wheel. I think the world has bigger issues that need to be taken care of at this point. Sit or stand and then doing what comes natural followed by a flush is a concept that cant get less complex.
Hooray for the commode brain trust
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
Weed Nov 4th 2007 8:47PM
I think all nursing homes should have toilets with many of the features that Toto toilets have for cleaniness and neatness. The airport in Manchester, New Hampshire in the handicapped "booth" had a covered seat that rotated around for a fresh cover for every person using it. It addressed the cleanliness issue as well as being hygienic.
LACY Oct 22nd 2007 10:01AM
Surely they mean chemical toilets and not the middle-eastern squat-type toilet... with all the people who would be using these toilets, I think the 'squatter' (forgive the pun) would fill up quicker... and anyways, about M.E. Indian people being nasty and smelly and peeing and defecating in public- I know many M.E. Indians who are NOT like that (even though I have met a few who are unsanitary) but I think that it is offensive to "stereotype" the entire country based on the people you and I have encountered. We weren't raised like these people were. We have no idea what it is like to scavenge the dump for our families scraps of food, or what it is like to build our ramshackle home with bits of plywood and cinderblocks... it's a shame we don't do more than just give them toilets.
openyourheart Oct 22nd 2007 10:08AM
Shame on you all passing judgment on people- not everyone lives the way people do in the US, using up all of our natural resources without a blink of an eye- do you have any idea how wasteful the standard toilet is? We will run use up all of the earth's water if we continue using the flushing toilet, not to mention we are eliminating into drinking water. I agree that sanitation is a must, but you could still OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO THOSE WHO HAVE LESS THAN YOU...
Rita Oct 22nd 2007 10:17AM
Yah know ~ the wisest of man informed the world what should be done with the dung. Dung should be buried. If everyone world wide took that advice and actually did what was told for us to do with dung, there would be less problems with disease. Designated areas for dung should be an absolute must in the world, to which the area is only for dung. Period. Let nature do its thing. Unfortunetly we do not listen and we allow dung to run and flow into places, such as water, where dung should not be.
IGUESSBORING Oct 22nd 2007 10:18AM
i'd never...........!!!
i'd hold it and hold it and hold it till i blew up into millions of pieces!
Elyse Oct 23rd 2007 9:02AM
A lot of you seem to be under the impression that all of America has plumbing...yes, you are more likely to find it in America than, you know, India, but there are places that don't With my church we do mission trips to the Appalachians (called the Appalachian Sevice Project) and help build, rebuild, or fix up many houses for families. One of the most moving moments of my life was when we finished one, and a seven-year-old girl was sooo excited about having a toilet that she started to cry. So shame on all of you for judging others who have less. I now know from experience how wasteful we are, and not just with water, though there are so many things we could do better to conserve that. Most Americans (I said most because I'm trying to avoid stereotyping) don't think about it, but ignorance is not bliss, because soon everyone will pay.
bnbncb Oct 22nd 2007 11:05AM
Toilets in Japan rule, kind of strange at first but in the end...way cool. They rinse and blow you dry, no kidding.
As for cleanliness, in my travels Japan very clean as was Thailand, VN and Singapore... China very Nasty, even big cities were nasty, way into spitting everywhere...
Once had to use public restroom in Paris subway, with my daughter... OMG had to return to hotel it was so nasty. Aussies are clean and Germans too.
Never been to India, but have heard you have to have a strong stomach to enjoy. However I have many Indian friends that are very clean.
Best public toilets still Japan
catchat Oct 22nd 2007 11:58AM
All should take a lesson from cats. They do cover up their excrement and if it is still malodorous, they go back and cover it up some more. Cats are cleaner than many humans, or so it seems.