Toilets

This morning, as my mom and I were driving on the 101, she said to me, "Jessica, hemorrhoids basically affect 9 out of 10 people. You cannot be one of them."

We were talking about toilets (like, for instance, how one toilet in the house is broken) and the fact that mama wants to buy a fancy Japanese one that will pretty much give you an enema with the press of a button. We continued to discuss toilets and she wonders why the European bidets haven't advanced to the level of Japanese toilets.

Later during my lunch break, I read an article on Slate about the way our modern-day toilets are actually bad for your health. When many of us hear an accusation about a clean, white, feces-flusher being actually bad for us, we get a little defensive. During my stay in China, I dreaded having to squat in a hole in the ground and that's because I've grown up with toilets and think they're awfully clean and convenient.

However, my boyfriend begs to differ. In China, he loved to go to his sisters because she lives in an older Chinese neighborhood and has a squatting toilet. He claimed that everything came out much easier and prefers it over my standard toilet. Ever since he told me about his real feelings, he's been finding information online about toilets and health.

While toilets are great for making sure our feces aren't on the streets, stinking up the house, or in our backyard; there's some people saying that it leads you to be more prone to infections and hemorrhoids. Interesting how we're trying to revamp, re-imagine, and reassess our modern toilets to improve our health (btw, you know 1/2 of Americans suffer from hemorrhoids?).

More thoughtful links:
1. Vangaurd's World Toilet Crisis : In some places, people don't have access to toilets and must defecate in public areas causing drinking water to be contaminated. Watch it!

2. Waterless Urinals : Not a bad idea.

I'm sorry this post was about toilets.