Squat toilet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (March 2009)

A squat toilet (also known as an Eastern, Turkish or Natural-Position toilet) is a toilet used by squatting, rather than sitting. There are several types of squat toilets, but they all consist essentially of a hole in the ground. The only exception is a "pedestal" squat toilet, which is the same height as a standard flush toilet. It is also possible to squat over standard western pedestal toilets, but this requires extra care as they are not specifically designed for squatting ^[1]

Contents 1 Types of squat toilets 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Types of squat toilets

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2007)

• The squat toilets (known as alaturka (from Italian alla turca) in Turkey or Iranian Toilet in Iran or paati in malayalam. In contrast to alafranga (alla franca) flush toilets) where the user puts his feet on foot rests; the user faces the entrance to the cubicle; it is prevalent in Turkey where flush toilets are now getting more in use for households and can still be found in some public buildings and at motorway services in France, Italy, Uruguay, Balkans and, more often, in the former USSR. In Argentina, squat toilets can be found in older, lower class pubs, cafés and restaurants. It is also used in the Middle East and can be found in rural areas of Greece and Italy. It is also very common in Iran and prevalent throughout most of China and South East Asia.
• The Japanese toilet, which is also found in Korea and Taiwan, is shaped differently with a rectangular or oval shape and a lip at the flushing end to guard against urine. The user squats facing the flushing apparatus with his stool being deposited on the dry section opposite the flushing end, eliminating splashing but allowing some odor. When flushed, the higher, dry section of the toilet is washed towards the pool of water at the flushing end.

[edit] Gallery

Toilet used in passenger trains of Chinese Railways	Squat toilet in Shanghai, China	A pedestal squat toilet found in Chiang Dao, Thailand	Retrofit squatting device for seated toilet
An older squat toilet	A stainless steel squat toilet found in public toilet of Victoria Park, Hong Kong	Dual-use Squat Toilet (can be used in sitting position)

[edit] See also

• History of the toilet

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Squat toilet