You’ve been asking for more poop from me. Be careful what you wish for.
Because today is World Toilet Day!
This morning, I was inspired as shit by my friend Judy when she alerted me to the arrival of World Toilet Day (which I’d somehow forgotten?!?) and to Mr. Toilet himself. And to this article.
Mr. Toilet is my hero. Seriously.
Mr. Toilet was not born with that name. Nope, Mr. Toilet is actually a rich, big-hearted man named Jack Sim who wants to do good in the world with the shitload of money he made in construction. So, being flush with cash, Jack was inspired when he read a statement by his country’s (Singapore) then prime minister:
He said we should measure our graciousness according to the cleanliness of our public toilets.
As a travel lover, let me tell you that nothing, and I do mean nothing, says “welcome” like a clean, accessible toilet. (As a Crohn’s patient, however, I stay home a lot.)
As I said last year on this auspicious occasion,
The point of World Toilet Day is actually pretty important. People without access to hygienic facilities risk illness, many women are preyed upon and attacked as they seek out a place to go. Diseases are transmitted, including infections, cholera, well, here’s a picture.
The “F-diagram” (feces, fingers, flies, fields, fluids, food), showing pathways of fecal-oral disease transmission. The vertical blue lines show barriers: toilets, safe water, hygiene and handwashing.
Source Wikipedia
Mr. Toilet founded the World Toilet Organization (WTO) in 2001. As Judy’s article says:
It’s a nonprofit coalition of leaders from more than 40 countries who try to come up with innovative solutions to tackle the world’s sanitation and water problems.
Together these loo lovers started the World Toilet College and SaniShop, initiatives that train entrepreneurs not only to make household toilets but also to maintain them and market them in the developing world. More than 4,000 people have been trained since 2005; the WTO says that up to 10,000 toilets were assembled in 2010 alone.
But it’s the way Mr. Toilet wants to go about increasing toilets that hit me where I live.
So first you have to make owning a toilet not just rational but aspirational. You have to make a toilet come with bragging rights, like a Louis Vuitton handbag.
Aspiration is important, as you can see even rich people have really nice toilets — they go for the highest level all the time. So this is the same as the poor people. They aspire to own products that have bragging rights, like a cellphone or television. The psychology is exactly the same.
He wants to first make owning and using a toilet funny, then sexy, and then normal. He wants to remove the taboo on poo. He wants people to laugh about, talk about and sing about toilets.
Here. I’ll help.
Who knew that World Toilet Day would lead me to find the theme song for my life.
FiftyFourandAHalf 
I love when people appreciate the importance of poo. Our pets certainly do. The dogs recycle it as new food once the horses are done with theirs. The canines proceed to roll in it and sample it between meals. They then run around digesting the predigested grass and grain. Then they fertilize the lawn with it. The circle of life is alive and well on the farm.
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While I appreciate poo, let me please just say for the record that I don’t eat it. (Although my favorite junior high science teacher did once say that there was more protein in the town’s toilet system than in the grocery store … he didn’t advocate eating it either as I recall.)
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In my series of action/humor sci-fi novels, the alien toilet technology is amazing… the description of using one is downright sexy. HA!
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Your theme song will be staying with me all day. Perfect!
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Oh Michelle, Let it go! 😏
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Hi Elyse! One of your questions is being featured on Gibber Jabberin tomorrow morning. It’s scheduled to post at 8:00 am MT, which I believe is 10:00 am your time. If this is not convenient, and you want me to reschedule, let me know.
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Thanks. I’ll be working but can touch base from time to time.
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Just as I started reading this post, a commercial appeared on the TV for a product called V.I.Poo. You spray the water in the toilet before you drop your load, and I guess people are supposed to think you fart flowers. It comes in different fragrances. Not sure if you are supposed to match the scent with what you ate beforehand.
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I bought joke presents of similar products last year “Poopouri” for women and “Poorin” for the men. It somehow neutralizes the smell. I should actually take some in to my office. I am not the only one on our floor who stinks up the joint.
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Here’s the link to the poopourri commercial.
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They got all those cool presents, and all I got is (are you ready?)….squat.
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Groan.
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Thank you for brightening my day! I loved this. Working at a university I thought that ‘educated’ people would understand the importance of clean toilets and hand washing but alas…
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Yes! Some people DO need a reminder. Yuck.
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You never fail to disappoint. 😉
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I’m happy whenever you let one go here, Elyse. No sh*t.
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😜I’ll try to do it appropriately. 🚽
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There are times when I’m reading a Facebook post and get to the end and have forgotten who posted it. This couldn’t happen with your blog. No one else releases such a firm yet compact vision that emanates from the depths of your being. To those who say you should drop Toilet Day, I say, “Let it Go!”
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I’m not sure if I should be flattered by that opening, Example. But I will never give up Toilet Day, when I remember it. Because actually, every day is Toilet Day for me!
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What if he actually made the toilets out of a Louis Vuitton handbag? You could make the leap straight to luxury.
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Oh Lord, I missed you S7.
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I enjoyed the “Let It Go” song, but it leaves me feeling very disenchanted. I never realized beautiful women did such a thing.
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Why Donald Trump! I didn’t realize you even read my blog …
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I guess I can learn a lot from you. I only thought Rosie O’Donnell did that sort of thing.
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You can learn a shitload of stuff from me. Especially about shit.
It is true that Disney princesses poop. Did you know that Disneyland and Disney World have special restrooms for them? It’s true. Because nobody likes to admit that princesses poo. Just like Rosie.
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I wish he would reach out to pizza places. They have the worst (dirtiest) restrooms, usually unisex. I worry that the employees also use it. Yuk!
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We actually found a terrific pizza place where we take my MIL frequently. Great pizza and a terrific bathroom.
But you’re right about most pizza places. I do takeout!
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Ironic that Mar. Sim is from Singapore, because when I was there, the public toilets as a rule did not have toilet paper. You learned to buy a ten pack of little tissue packs and always keep one or two with you. Another thing I notice here in the US, living in the Pacific Northwest, most stores either have a public bathroom, or let you use the employee bathroom. In New England, in areas I grew up, you don’t have bathrooms in stores for public use. And there aren’t a lot of public bathrooms either.
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New England has improved (thank God). Most places have bathrooms now. In fact, I often choose stores based on their bathrooms. Gross one? I’m not going to spend my money there!
A friend of mine decided when he traveled to Africa that “Civilization all comes down to what you do with your poo” — boy was he right!
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