Toilets of the World

Welcome to the Toilets of the World

Are you wondering why people hoard toilet paper? Wondering how to use a bidet, or even what a bidet is? Curious about what the toilets are like in other countries? Toilets from ancient history? Do you wonder who invented the flush toilet? (It wasn't Thomas Crapper!) You've come to the right place!

Toilets around the world:
Belgium Bulgaria China France Greek Islands Japan Morocco Trinidad Russia and many others
Toilets from throughout history:
The Stone Age Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Bible era King Arthur's England Invention of the flush toilet To the toilets of the future

116 days until Thomas Crapper's birthday

175 days until World Toilet Day

Answers for your important questions: Why do people hoard toilet paper? Did Thomas Crapper invent the flush toilet? Should I squat or sit? Should I wipe or wash? Where do I put used paper, in the bowl or in the bin? When did public toilets become segregated by sex? What is a bidet? What is a toilet snorkel? Should I incinerate my sewage in the basement?

Toilets of world leaders, artists, and authors: The Ottoman Sultan Woodrow Wilson Leon Trotsky Winston Churchill Adolf Hitler Dwight Eisenhower Robert Kennedy William Shakespeare Edgar Allan Poe Vincent Van Gogh Jim Morrison Lady Gaga

Where do I put used toilet paper?
In the bowl or in the bin?

Sparkling clean bathroom at Hostel Mostel in Veliko Tarnovo.

Do you know what to do with used toilet paper? If you start to say "Of course! You always put it in the...", then you are wrong! It varies from one country to the next, and sometimes it varies within a country. In some places you put it into the toilet and in other places it goes into a dedicated rubbish bin. Maybe you're anxiously looking this up on your smart phone while sitting on a toilet.

If so, look around you and see if there's a small rubbish container within arm's reach, probably lined with a plastic bag. Peep in there and see if it already contains used toilet paper. If so, put your paper there.

If there's no rubbish bin in sight, or if you're in the U.S., Canada, or Northwestern Europe, drop it in the toilet and hope for the best. For more details, keep reading!

Toilet paper should not be put into most squat toilets, as they are usually plumbed into systems not intended to handle paper. Squat toilets are common in countries in which water is the preferred personal cleaning method.

Leon Trotsky was a leading Communist theorist, but he fell from favor and was expelled from the Soviet Union. He ended up in Mexico in the 1930s, where he lived at the home of the painter Diego Rivera. Trotsky's affair with Rivera's wife Frida Kahlo led to Trotsky finding a home of his own.

Trotsky's home in Mexico City is an interesting time capsule of an upper-class Mexican home from the 1930s. You can tour it and see several plumbing details including Trotsky's toilet with its very high wall-mounted tank, his tub, his water heater, his kitchen sink, and more.

Check back tomorrow for another featured toilet!

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