Unusual Toilets
Some toilets are awful, some are nice, and some are just downright weird.
This page has an overview of some unusual toilets and other plumbing.
Click on any of the pictures or links to see further details on these categories.
The Worst Toilet in the World
Greece was the home of logic and philosophy, and some would say it was the origin of Western Civilization. It was the land of Plato, and Socrates, and Aristotle.
We might expect at least decent toilets in Greece. But we would be disappointed.
Here is the exterior of an absolutely horrible toilet in Nafplio, Greece. The Worst Toilet page has some further pictures, some background, and an opportunity (not recommended!) to see the dreadful interior.
Stainless Steel Toilets
This stainless steel toilet is part of a mostly stainless steel bathroom suite on board a MARC (Maryland Rail Commuter Service) train between Washington and Baltimore on the east coast of the U.S.
Other stainless steel toilets seen on the dedicated page include examples on board Amtrak trains, on long-distance buses, and at beaches, parks, and pubs.
Loos With Views
Toilets aren't much to look at, but sometimes you have a nice view from the toilet.
This scenic head is on board the F/B Artemis Greek ferry en route from Ios to Santorini in the Aegean.
What a view! You can look out from three decks above the waterline.
Other Loos With Views include public pissoirs in France, open-air toilets near the summit of Mount Sinai and in the Beşparmak Dağları mountain range in Turkey, open-air urinals in Amsterdam, and several more.
Non-Human Toilets
These are examples of dog toilet systems in Atlanta, Georgia and in France.
See the dedicated page for more details.
Toiletological Statues
A separate page dedicated to the toiletological statues in Brussels shows the famous Mannikin Pis or Peeing Boy statue. That's right, a small statue of a peeing boy is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Belgium.
Mannikin Pis has recently been joined by Jeanneke Pis, the Peeing Girl statue, and Zennike Pis, the Peeing Dog statue. They are all plumbed for realistic operation.
Pressure-Flushing Toilets
Pressure-flushing toilets are not at all unusual, but where else am I to file this category? They are very common in the U.S., especially in cities.
The ceramic tank is not used as a water tank, but it holds a plastic pressure vessel. That pressure tank contains a sealed air bladder.
When the tank is filled from the water supply line, it fills with water and compresses the air bladder to the point that the tank pressure nearly equals the water supply line pressure.
The result is a flush using a small volume of water under pressure.
See the dedicated page for more pictures and details.
Dual-Flushing Toilets
Dual-flush toilets provide a means for selecting a light flush for liquid waste only, or a full flush for solid waste.
The picture you see here shows a public toilet, connected to a high-flow high-pressure supply line. However, the dual-flush toilet page shows a unit suitable for use in a home, using a standard toilet tank.
Ice-Cooled Urinals
Many bars in the U.S. put lots of ice in their urinals. The ice has already been used to chill bottles, and therefore it is dirty.
Why put it in the urinals? I'm really not sure. But it has to go somewhere, and it would serve to keep down the odor of a typical urinal.
See the dedicated page for more pictures and details.
Toilets of Terror
The Toilets of Terror page shows the toilet, tub and sink used by one group of 9/11 hijackers.
Futuristic High-Tech Toilets
Automated public toilets have been around for decades in France and are starting to appear in the U.S. Are they futuristic? If you're American, yes.
Some Japanese toilet seats are electrically heated and include multi-function built-in bidet capabilities. A console beside the seat has a couple of dials and some push buttons, and the bottom side of the seat lid has a multi-paragraph manual explaining its operation. Unfortunately, it is only in Japanese. The only English warns that you shouldn't break the toilet or urinate all over the seat.
Waterless urinals are becoming more common, especially in areas where water is more scarce.
How do they work?
They are covered with a Teflon-like non-wetting surface. The drain openings are just very small slits to only pass liquid and block litter or other solid refuse. The drain opens into a collection vessel holding a layer of light oil, so the urine collects below a sealed oil surface.
See the dedicated high-tech toilet page for more details and pictures of these and other futuristic toilet designs.
The Sewers of Paris
Yes, you can tour the sewers of Paris. And yes, of course I took pictures.
The Musée des Egouts de Paris is along the Seine, near the Eiffel Tower.
See the detailed page for the history of the Paris sewers and the logistical details for touring the sewers.
Liquid Nitrogen Plumbing
Liquid nitrogen canisters are commonly found sitting casually on busy city sidewalks, especially in Lower Manhattan in New York. Here is one just a block from the New York Stock Exchange.
The liquid nitrogen is used to keep telecommunication cables dry when they must run through moist environments. New York's Financial District is at the very southern tip of the island of Manhattan, in the narrow twisting streets of old Nieuw-Amsterdam. Huge numbers of telecommunications lines run through a small area just a few meters above the water line, where the East River and the Hudson River join in New York Harbor.
See the dedicated page for more pictures and details on liquid nitrogen, Dewar flasks, and telecommunications hardware.
Rose George's The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters is a fascinating description of sanitation conditions around the world. "2.6 billion people don't have sanitation. [....] Four in ten people have no access to any latrine, toilet, bucket, or box. [....] Poor sanitation, bad hygiene, and unsafe water — usually unsafe because it has fecal particles in it — cause one in ten of the world's illnesses. [....] Diarrhea — nearly 90 percent of which is caused by fecally contaminated food or water — kills a child every fifteen seconds. The number of children who have died from diarrhea in the last decade [1998-2008] exceeds the total number of people killed by armed conflict since the Second World War.
In September 2009, Morna Gregory and Sian James published a book titled Toilets of the World. It's pretty much the same theme that you find here — photographs and commentary on other people's plumbing.
The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet, by Julie Horan, contends that civilization began with the toilet.
Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, edited by Laura Noren and Harvey Molotch, has essays by anthropologists, sociologists, and architects on the importance of the toilet, especially for urban dwellers.
Latrinae Et Foricae: Toilets in the Roman World describes the toilets of the Roman Empire from Iberia to Syria, and from North Africa to Hadrian's Wall in Britannia.
Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks, and Sewers: A History of the Bathroom, explains the history of personal cleanliness and hygiene to children in grades 5-8.
| A Sani-Flush blue border indicates a toilet that I've used. |
How long have my Toilets of the World pages been around? I'm not exactly sure, although they started in the mid 1990s as a single page on a Purdue University server. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine lets you see what that looked like as far back as January 17, 1999.
My cromwell-intl.com domain appeared in September, 2001, although the Wayback Machine didn't notice its one enormous Toilet of the World page until January 17, 2002. Some time soon after that I split it into categories, and the collection has grown ever since.
In December, 2010 I registered the toilet-guru.com domain and moved the pages to a dedicated server.
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