In all the excitement, I forgot to tell you that yesterday was International Toilet Day. The main driver of this event (?) is the World Toilet Organization, and no, I'm not making this up.
Like feminism, it's something we must take very seriously. In fact, there's a strong feminist ethic amongst those promoting more toilets for the women of the world -- not just the Third World but the First World too.
The long queues at the dwindling number of public toilets for women demands action. So said a British woman (naturally), a specialist in "inclusive engineering" -- a discipline which Walt didn't know existed. They believe that to achieve reduction in wait times, with attendant social and even medical consequences, new buildings and public spaces should have two to three times as many toilets for women as for men. Reverse discrimination? Maybe not a bad idea though.
On the same programme, Walt heard an American campaigner -- a man -- call for "potty parity". Being American, the group he represents has a number of lawsuits going, to force the installation of more toilets for women. But this gentleman had another suggestion -- more unisex washrooms. This has the added bonus of being fair to the "transgendered", especially those who are "going through the change".
Yesterday the WTO promoted "the Big Squat". The WTO website says "To help raise awareness for the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to sanitation, thousands of people are going to squat for one minute." I guess I missed it, but then I wasn't in town. There are advantages to living in the country!
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