For centuries, the great British loo has been a matter of envy to the rest of the world.

Thanks to the efforts of pioneers like the legendary Thomas Crapper, we have long since led the world in comfort and hygiene.

Now, however, that could be about to change.

For most of us, the squat toilet is nothing more than a staple of horror stories about old-fashioned French service stations or the exploits of adventurous backpackers in far-flung parts of India.

But this basic form of plumbing, also known as a Turkish toilet or Nile pan, could be coming to a shopping centre near you - and all in the name of cultural sensitivity.

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.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1294630/Shopping-centre-management-install-Asian-stand-toilets-following-cultural-awareness-course.html#ixzz0tgnzcirj

The end of the world as we know it.............

i just feel sorry for ' Thomas Crapper '

all that hard work and for what !

Before they even thought about this, they should have visited the homes of the " leaders" of said communities and see what they prefer to use. If they found the odd Grand Mufti with a hole fair enough, but I doubt it.

However, all the sit down toilets should now be taken out of the homes of said community provided by the by the council and replaced by holes. If that's what they want, then that's what they should be made to have before they impose it on the wider indigenous community as a whole.

Before they even thought about this, they should have visited the homes of the " leaders" of said communities and see what they prefer to use. If they found the odd Grand Mufti with a hole fair enough, but I doubt it.

However, all the sit down toilets should now be taken out of the homes of said community provided by the by the council and replaced by holes. If that's what they want, then that's what they should be made to have before they impose it on the wider indigenous community as a whole.

i highly doubt they have them in there homes ! but yes i totally agree on what you say

Forget TIT , when you have Barmy Britian

Before they even thought about this, they should have visited the homes of the " leaders" of said communities and see what they prefer to use. If they found the odd Grand Mufti with a hole fair enough, but I doubt it.

However, all the sit down toilets should now be taken out of the homes of said community provided by the by the council and replaced by holes. If that's what they want, then that's what they should be made to have before they impose it on the wider indigenous community as a whole.

I like your thinking, suiging. On a similar note, I would like all those oil company executives who guarantee that THEIR new ocean oil rig, or oil carrying freighter won't leak to put up their own lives as collateral should there ever be a problem. Now THAT would be a guarantee, but it will never happen because the executives are just blowing smoke up our azz.

I wonder if Mr.BJ is pleased to see the "Mighty Dale" is plumbing new depths ? ...

Don't like squat toilets, 'cos for westerners they are uncomfortable to squat over. We don't have the training from very young to squat with our feet flat on the floor.

However, I do like the 'bum gun' that accompanies many of the more civilised squat toilets (and, nowadays, many thrones as well).

In Saudi I have installed very luxurious toilets, with heated seat, a wash system that extends out from under the back of the seat and bathes your bum in warm water, etc.

The one thing from outside England the authorities should take into account is the automatic flush installed in all Singapore public toilets - when you stand up after a nice crap, the little radar-like gadget installed behind you will operate a flush. So there's never any deposits left for the next customer to enjoy.

Have the authorities thought about monitoring the use of these toilets? To see how often they are used when others are available?

It may not show the anticipated result, as I usually use a cubicle to piss in, rather than a urinal, and I don't then care whether it's a throne or a squat - but wherever I find multiple choice cubiucles, it's always the squats that are empty, seldom the thrones.

More stupid PC stuff that should be flushed.

This could be an option.

No harm trying.

Still Asian.

I wonder if Mr.BJ is pleased to see the "Mighty Dale" is plumbing new depths ? ...

I'm horrified ken. Absolutely horrified. What a waste of public money.

Suiging had the best idea. Visit their houses and see what kind of lavvy they have at their homes.

The one thing from outside England the authorities should take into account is the automatic flush installed in all Singapore public toilets - when you stand up after a nice crap, the little radar-like gadget installed behind you will operate a flush. So there's never any deposits left for the next customer to enjoy.

But does this little radar-like gadget detect the crap you've dribbled into your shoes or the back of your trousers? Now that could be embarrassing.

Only works if you eat a bag full of magnets with your tea..............

Irrefutable evidence of the cyclical rise and inevitable fall of civilisations.

There was a programme on Radio 4 today about Henry Fielding, an English author who lived in the 1700s. Part of it described the pubs of the time. Apparently running along the base of the bar was a 'piss trough'. If a customer wanted a whizz they just flopped it out and pissed in the piss trough.

There was a programme on Radio 4 today about Henry Fielding, an English author who lived in the 1700s. Part of it described the pubs of the time. Apparently running along the base of the bar was a 'piss trough'. If a customer wanted a whizz they just flopped it out and pissed in the piss trough.

They then collected it, bottled it, and Singha Beer was born.

I think the Shopping Centre should go the whole hog (if you will excuse the euphemism) and remove the toilet paper and bum gun and go back to the old days of small sliver of soap, dipper jug (pooper scooper) and washing the nether regions with the left hand.

CB

I rented a flat once that had no bum gun and the minute the Lao land lady saw my ugly farang head she told me in no uncertain terms that toilet paper was never to darken her premises. (3" sewer pipe).

In the interests of decorum I won't describe the lengthy learning curve required.

There was a programme on Radio 4 today about Henry Fielding, an English author who lived in the 1700s. Part of it described the pubs of the time. Apparently running along the base of the bar was a 'piss trough'. If a customer wanted a whizz they just flopped it out and pissed in the piss trough.

Before the second world war my father worked for a time at an engineering firm in Berkhampsted (a rather up-market dormitory town now).

The crapper consisted of a series of cubicles with a long trough running through. Slightly tilted from end-to-end, with some water running through.

You squatted over the trough, crapped and the result was washed down the trough.

As apprentices, it was great fun to get into the first cubicle, put a ball of screwed-up newspaper in the trough, set light to it and let it float down the trough.

(Of course this was best done at lunch-break, when all cubicles were occupied.)

No hairy-arsed engineers in those days.

I rented a flat once that had no bum gun and the minute the Lao land lady saw my ugly farang head she told me in no uncertain terms that toilet paper was never to darken her premises. (3" sewer pipe).

In the interests of decorum I won't describe the lengthy learning curve required.

I love my bum-gun. Should be in every household.

Seldom any skid marks from hurried wipes, saves on laundry!!

I rented a flat once that had no bum gun and the minute the Lao land lady saw my ugly farang head she told me in no uncertain terms that toilet paper was never to darken her premises. (3" sewer pipe).

In the interests of decorum I won't describe the lengthy learning curve required.

My first place in Thailand was the same. Toilet roll is on the table for wiping the face. Dipper and soap is in the bathroom for washing the back side. I still have recurring memories about a visiting Australian girl who managed to flush (after considerable effort) several sanitary napkins over a few days down the toilet. We had to dig up 50meters of blue plastic 3" pipe. My house mother asked me if she (the visitor) was staying much longer, I replied "no" and she replied "good" At the house we just rented up in Mae Daeng the toilet is a squat version and to be honest I really don't care much. I prefer the sit down style but my g/f says they too tall because her feet barely touch the ground when she sits on one.

I rented a flat once that had no bum gun and the minute the Lao land lady saw my ugly farang head she told me in no uncertain terms that toilet paper was never to darken her premises. (3" sewer pipe).

In the interests of decorum I won't describe the lengthy learning curve required.

Living in Iran (Shiraz) in the seventies, there was no sewage system, every house had a big cess-pit. This was so throughout most of Iran.

The pit was lined with stones in a dry-wall system, completely covered and buried. Everything drained into this pit, liquids soaked into the garden at a low level (say 3 metres down) and irrigated the garden. Solids broke down and were washed through the dry-stone walling and fertilised the garden. It worked very well.

Then along came western civilisation and the dreaded toilet paper. This blocked the dry-stone walling and the cess-pits filled and overflowed, due to the papier-mache lining to the pit. And then the westerners commented on the dirty habits of the Iranians. My wife and I kept to the bum-gun and had no trouble.

I love my bum-gun.

How about those articles that claim squatting reduces a list of *modern* ailments including colon cancer?

Like these after a quick google....

http://www.naturesplatform.com/health_benefits.html

http://www.jcrows.com/squatting.html

http://www.relfe.com/toilet_seat_constipation.html

How about those articles that claim squatting reduces a list of *modern* ailments including colon cancer?

Like these after a quick google....

http://www.naturesplatform.com/health_benefits.html

http://www.jcrows.com/squatting.html

http://www.relfe.com/toilet_seat_constipation.html

Taking the first of your articles as an example of ridiculousness,

look at this picture, supposed to show how a Roman toilet was used.

When squatting above the bench, as shown, one would miss the hole completely, defecating on the slab behind.

Also, the writer claims that the vertical hole is so that one can wash oneself afterwards. Can you reach that far below your feet to control some water jet? Or carry a handful of water up to clean yourself?

And further up in the article it stated that squatting could eliminate the need for a hysterectomy and assist pregnancy. (One or the other?) Personally I've never been pregnant and have no need for a hysterectomy.

A bum gun is all very well for you southerners but I can imagine nipping to my outside loo in January to find the bloody thing had iced up.....decent incentive for finishing my Scotsman crossword double quick though!

A bum gun is all very well for you southerners but I can imagine nipping to my outside loo in January to find the bloody thing had iced up.....decent incentive for finishing my Scotsman crossword double quick though!

Not all Southerners are cossetted.

Had a girl-friend in Skewen (outside Swansea) living in a house with an outside toilet shared by four families. Not small families either. So one was quick and nimble.

Had to avoid all the black pats too, that lived in the shed.

Scotsman crossword ca't be finished very quickly - not by me, anyway.

How about those articles that claim squatting reduces a list of *modern* ailments including colon cancer?

Like these after a quick google....

http://www.naturespl...h_benefits.html

http://www.jcrows.com/squatting.html

http://www.relfe.com...nstipation.html

Taking the first of your articles as an example of ridiculousness,

look at this picture, supposed to show how a Roman toilet was used.

When squatting above the bench, as shown, one would miss the hole completely, defecating on the slab behind.

Also, the writer claims that the vertical hole is so that one can wash oneself afterwards. Can you reach that far below your feet to control some water jet? Or carry a handful of water up to clean yourself?

And further up in the article it stated that squatting could eliminate the need for a hysterectomy and assist pregnancy. (One or the other?) Personally I've never been pregnant and have no need for a hysterectomy.

Bum gun OK.

Do ya wipe yer ass clean with ya hands, or hope the water stream cleans efrytink off.

Has to be the most unhygienic thing I have come across.

Imagine the faecal matter on door and tap handles.... ewwwwww

YOU, may wash yer hands but what about the many that don't?

Bum gun at home, yes, but NOT in public loos.

In LoS, I always have loo paper with me, use on handles as well as ass.

I shudder when having to use a loo, squat or crapper style.

How about those articles that claim squatting reduces a list of *modern* ailments including colon cancer?

Like these after a quick google....

http://www.naturespl...h_benefits.html

http://www.jcrows.com/squatting.html

http://www.relfe.com...nstipation.html

Taking the first of your articles as an example of ridiculousness,

look at this picture, supposed to show how a Roman toilet was used.

When squatting above the bench, as shown, one would miss the hole completely, defecating on the slab behind.

Also, the writer claims that the vertical hole is so that one can wash oneself afterwards. Can you reach that far below your feet to control some water jet? Or carry a handful of water up to clean yourself?

And further up in the article it stated that squatting could eliminate the need for a hysterectomy and assist pregnancy. (One or the other?) Personally I've never been pregnant and have no need for a hysterectomy.

Bum gun OK.

Do ya wipe yer ass clean with ya hands, or hope the water stream cleans efrytink off.

Has to be the most unhygienic thing I have come across.

Imagine the faecal matter on door and tap handles.... ewwwwww

YOU, may wash yer hands but what about the many that don't?

Bum gun at home, yes, but NOT in public loos.

In LoS, I always have loo paper with me, use on handles as well as ass.

I shudder when having to use a loo, squat or crapper style.

Willpower, my son.

Just clench cheeks until you get home.

(In Pattaya it is very good practice to clench cheeks even when you do not want to visit the loo) (Keeps you looking younger and less beer belly!! )

When squatting above the bench, as shown, one would miss the hole completely, defecating on the slab behind.

Oiii I think you may have missed the point

I do so love these highbrow threads so often found in Bedlam.

They should simply be banned for poblic loos.

Just for public health reasons if no other.reason.

Some I have seen in my S.E.A. trips were apalling.

They would have yobbs using them and spreading faeces all over, just for laughs.

Nope, no place for squats in western style civilisation.

At home, no probs.