Toilets of the World

You can learn a lot about a country and about people by seeing what kind of toilet (or lack there of.) that they use. The pictures in this book are great and the topic is light hearted and interesting to read. This book covers amazingly strange toilets with animal shapes or unusual thing like that - right down to the toilets of the poorest of the poor. You learn a bit of history and a bit about different cultures too.

A sort-of-silly book, this is at the same time interesting and a great read to have in your guest bathroom!

When I think of entertaining reading material, I rarely think of toilets. "Toilets of the World," however, is an amusing homage to the endeavor of excretion. Divided by continents, this book examines the most unusual of all toilets from the world over, from the fantastically complex (I would not want to, for instance, use the toilet on a submarine lest I inadvertently configure the valves incorrectly and release "a high-pressure explosion of sewage throughout the submarine at a force of 225 pounds per square inch") to mere holes in the dirt. Part and parcel of this book explains not only the physical structure of these toilets, but also the local customs of different cultures. The lack of toilet paper use in Turkey and India (the left hand substitutes...) is a key example of cultural toilet use differences beyond the obvious squat versus sit elimination methods. There are many unusual toilets in this book, but for my money, the toilets of Asia take the cake, especially the urinals in the Lemina Building in Tokyo, which electronically sense when a man approaches, then burst into music and move the urinal vigorously hoping the man can accurately track the target, all the while taunting him with disparaging remarks and engaging in flash photography. There is an equally frightening experience awaiting the women in the same building which results in a bad case of claustrophobia, and features not only a giant mechanical geisha kissing the unsuspecting victim on the knees, but also a light show, fake thunder, and a hideous androgynous mechanical freak appearing from a secret compartment with the toilet paper. I guess it beats a hole in the ground. Five stars for making peristalsis an interesting cultural journey, a feat I had hardly imagined possible.

It was a fun book and had some cool pictures.

I bought this as a gift and it was loved!!

This book was purchased as a humorous gift for a family member, but I am seriously considering purchasing another copy for myself and displaying it prominently on my bookshelf. It is fascinating to me to see how other cultures differ from ours in this most basic function. The photos are great as well. I've never thought of toilets as artistic before, but this book may have changed my opinion.

I am a self-confessed toiletbagger. I enjoy travelling to new places and checking out the facilities. This book piqued my interest and I awaited the arrival at my home. I was not disappointed. Appropriately placed in the "reading room" I enjoyed leafing through the pages and encountering some familiar scenes. There are some interesting tidbits about international personalities, common cultural treatments of one of the few unifying aspects of human existence and outright amazing feats of plumbing wizardry. I have a trip to London planned and will be taking the addresses of several facilities along in hopes of experiencing them firsthand.

I bought this for a family member who wanted coffee table books as a bit of a joke. He doesn't keep it on the coffee table (surprise surprise), but it makes for a very interesting read/view. Not only are there the illustrations, but useful descriptions. While you may not THINK this interests you (I think you will find it does), this is a great way to learn about how people do the necessary in places far from our own.