Shopping centre bosses approve 'Asian squat toilets' following cultural awareness course
From next week, shoppers in Rochdale who push open the cubicle door expecting the reassuring sight of a modern, clean lavatory could instead be faced with little more than a hole in the ground.
Bosses of the Greater Manchester town's Exchange mall have installed two as part of an upgrade costing several thousand pounds after attending a cultural awareness course run by a local Muslim community activist.
A familiar sight in parts of the Middle East, and still sometimes seen in France and Italy, the toilets require users to squat above them, rather than sitting.
With one in ten of Rochdale's population of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin, centre managers say they have been told some members of the local Asian community prefer them for cultural reasons.
Apparently this innovation has something to do with "cultural understanding and community cohesion" though how introducing third world plumbing into the first world will bring about community cohesion I'm not sure.
Squat toilets aren't exactly "third world"... they're pretty common in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Nonetheless I take the point that this is a "PC gone mad".
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, these things are OK to use if the toilet has a full-time attendant, you don't mind every surface in the cubicle being wet, and you've got pretty damn good aim with a hose (which you use instead of toilet paper, and which is why every surface is wet). If any of those criteria aren't met, you squat in a stinking cubicle getting piss on the soles of your shoes at the very least, and then end up drenching the crotch of your underwear with the hose afterwards. Using them may be a cultural preference, but it's a pretty weird culture.
ReplyDeleteIf the shopping centre doesn't have an alternative, chances are that this particular shopping centre will lose customers over this.
ReplyDeleteWell, let's hope it cathces on here too. Nothing worse than following an asian who has squatted above a toilet SEAT and crapped all over it,
ReplyDeleteNever have I met filthier "people" than asians.
"people" ??? What's that about LRO?
ReplyDeleteI used the squat mode toilets from time to time when I lived in Singapore, and fortunately didn't have a problem with them.
My experience with public toilets in general is that it is obvious some people don't rate the concept of hygiene highly. As usual, a few people ruin it for the many.