Feeling a little flush

I can't believe a day like this would slip by me, but November 19 was World Toilet Day.

You know me, I'm ALL about potty humor, so I thought, "Wow, a day celebrating the toilet? How cool is that?" But, World Toilet Day might not be what you think.

November 19 was declared 'World Toilet Day' in 2001 by toilet associations around the world to raise awareness of the global sanitation crisis. That's right, "toilet associations." Since 2001, then there has been an annual World Toilet Summit and Expo.

We might think this is kind of silly, but what if there were no toilets? Where would you "go" when you had to go? Where would EVERYONE go? Toilets are a very serious issue in developing countries where hygiene is a matter of life and death.

• 2.5 billion people do not have somewhere safe, private or hygienic to go to the toilet.
• One gram of feces can contain 10 million viruses, one million bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs.
• The simple act of washing hands with soap and water after going to the toilet can reduce diarrheal diseases by over 40%.
• Safe disposal of children's feces leads to a reduction of nearly 40% in childhood diarrhea.
• Every year 4 million people die from diseases associated with contaminated water.

The World Toilet Organization (the other WTO) asks each individual, in their respective country, to request better equality (more facilities for women); more accessibility and special provisions (for the disabled & mothers with babies); clean toilets (for everyone); and more toilets (for the less fortunate).

One of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals is to cut in half the number of people living without "basic sanitation" by 2015. Did you know that in the U.S., every toilet flush uses as much water as the average person in a developing country uses for a whole day's washing, cleaning, cooking, and drinking?

In the summer of 1858, London experienced what historians call the Big Stink. At the height of the British empire, the city of London burgeoned with people. And all those people had to poop. And that poop, well, it had to go somewhere. At that time, people went in chamber pots which were emptied into the streets or backyards. Streets, basements, and yards were flooded with excrement, which eventually made its way to the River Thames. Of course, this happened every year, but the summer of 1858 was hotter than usual, and bacteria thrived. The odor was so overwhelming that people soaked curtains in chloride of lime and many left town. This provoked a much-needed sanitation reformation in London, and eventually led to the flush toilet.

Disease epidemics like cholera were directly caused by sewage contamination of drinking water. Even today, diseases from water contamination are the second-biggest killer of children worldwide, causing 5,000 deaths a day, five times the number dying from HIV/AIDS.

When I went to China in 2006, I was not prepared for the "toilets" we would encounter there. We were told to practice "squatting" so we'd have the leg muscles to do it, since all the toilets in China are squat toilets except for the ones in the hotels.

Here's a picture of a typical squat toilet (and yes, I used this one, and no, it had no door...)

With squat toilets, there isn't really any flushing, and you are not supposed to put anything down there except your excrement. Most restrooms have a little trash can where you are supposed to deposit the toilet paper (if you are lucky enough to find it provided for you). As you can imagine, the trash can of used toilet paper makes all the restrooms have a very distinctive odor. About halfway through the trip, I realized my urine was starting to smell like those toilets, presumably because the diet is so similar, and we were eating what the regular folk eat.

Here's a picture of me going into the squat toilet on one of our train rides.

Yes, a squat toilet on a moving train. Luckily, there was a railing you could hold on to. You'll notice that I have a baggie with my toilet paper, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer. This baggie went with me to every bathroom trip. Also, you may notice the window above the toilet. If you didn't squat down far enough, and we happened to stop at a station, you would give the waiting riders a little show.

Now, you may want to stop reading here if you have a tender stomach. This toilet was nothing more than 2 short walls of bricks and a hole in the ground. Right out in the open. My mom used this one, I did not. This next toilet was the one for the children at the school where we visited. Yes, I did use this one (when you gotta go, you gotta go). As you can see and can imagine, sanitation is an issue. And there was no running water here for hand washing. The organization I work for built a new school for these children which has running water and toilets.
The first time I pooped in a squat toilet, I emerged with my arms in the air as if I had won a victory. "I did it!" I yelled. I think it was day 3. Up to that point, I had managed to time my poo with the times when we were in the hotel. But that day, we were at the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an, so I didn't have a choice. I'll never forget that moment.

The next time you go to the potty, be grateful. Chances are, you celebrated World Toilet Day without even knowing it. And if you didn't, you should probably go to the doctor...