91–100 of 108 posts
Sorry, but I don't know a polite way to ask this. How do you urinate while on a squat toilet without peeing all over your pants?
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Here in Asia, you most always find both western and squat toilet in houses, hotels and public toilets. In public toilets squat toilets are still more hygienic to use than sitting on the western toilet seats. Moreover if the flush doesn't work, which usually would be the case, you can always pour a bucket of water.
Pouring a bucket of water also works with western toilets. Try it one day. You'll probably have to do a few buckets but it works.
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What if he has a good book on hand? I've been known to spend hours in there due to good books. It gets very uncomfortable, but you just can't put the book down!
If you think it's uncomfortable now, wait until you get hemorrhoid surgery to undo the damage you're doing with this.
Thankfully, I don't think children are especially susceptible.
"My 10-minute routine dropped to a minute ..." Jesus, what the hell is wrong with this guy? Or maybe I'm the freak, but I don't spend ten minutes on the toilet. Usually it takes 30s-2m to do my business. Maybe he should consider a change in diet?
Also you can't read magazines or check email while you're "perched" so maybe that has something to do with it. ;)
"My 10-minute routine dropped to a minute ..." Jesus, what the hell is wrong with this guy? Or maybe I'm the freak, but I don't spend ten minutes on the toilet. Usually it takes 30s-2m to do my business. Maybe he should consider a change in diet?
How old are you? I've found the good 'ol GI tract and related equipment doesn't work as efficiently as you start to approach 30. Also you can't read magazines or check email while you're "perched" so maybe that has something to do with it. ;)
Perhaps if you have a diet that consists mainly of cheese. "Approaching 30" is a bit early for your colon to start clogging up... you might want to get that checked out.
I've been perching for 2 years and subjectively recommend it.
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The public squat toilets I've seen have been more of a mess than public sit toilets, and the standing area can be as bad as the porcelain rim of a sit toilet -- a place I would not choose to step. So while more sanitary under ideal proper use, in public places they appear to me less sanitary, at least in their effect on all floors nearby. I wonder if this contributes to the higher rates of hepatitis and related illne…
> I wonder if this contributes to the higher rates of hepatitis and related illnesses in Asia -- and that in turn to the custom of removing shoes before entering households. Removing shoes before entering households is standard practice in quite a few (most?) European countries as well, so I imagine it is not related to higher rates of hepatitis and subsequent fear of infection. (Frankly, from a subjective viewpoint,…
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Like wikipedia. > the Roman toilets were probably elevated to raise them above open sewers, rather than for sitting. However in the image http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ostia-Toilets.JPG accompanying one can see that this would mean that the Romans were wasting a lot of well prepared stone building the toilets twice as high as needed (note the extra stone below the opening). One thought was that this could be an e…
Thanks for the investigation. Perhaps the Romans started out squatting, and later changed to sitting. I predict this is the point in time when the rise of the Romans stopped and their fall began. (Tongue-in-cheek.)
I was told once that in China, people squat a lot more than in the West. Both for toilet use, but also just for "sitting down" somewhere. Example: I was told that upon seeing a bench, whereas westerners would normally sit on it, a Chinese person will squat on it. This supposedly also makes their legs much stronger. Can anyone confirm this?
Squatting trivia: South Asians do squat in repose, but notice that the heel of the foot is in full contact with the ground. I read somewhere that the typical Westerner, or someone not used to squatting for extended periods, will squat on the balls of their feet. Apparently this can tire you out quickly. I'm embarrassed that I can't quite manage to squat on my heels either, despite being South Asian.
My calf muscles don't allow my thighs to press against my calves along their length as in images of people squatting full footed. The lever created means a huge amount of pressure on my knees like when you use a bar under a claw-hammer to increase upward force. I've tried squatting flat footed and holding onto something - it's very painful on the front of my legs and my thighs don't go closer than about 15deg from my calves.
I crouch down a lot as I spend a lot of time next to tables talking to people sitting.
I also can't sit cross-legged comfortable, never could. It made school assemblies hard for me I have to hold my legs crossed in an elevated position (knees away from the floor) which then adds pressure on the buttocks.
Perhaps it's just me. I don't consider myself to appear obviously anatomically dissimilar to those around me.
We squat because that's the cleanest way to release waste. We also squat when we urinate, that way no urine is splashed back to your pants, which happens when you stand and urinate.