This is a post about excrement, or at least its disposal. And especially about public washrooms.

Thomas Crapper, an Englishman, popularized the flush toilet in the 19th century. His design hasn’t been changed much – but has never caught on in some parts of the world. (I always thought Crapper had invented the flush toilet, but it turns out I was wrong. However it is from his name we do derive one of the popular words for human waste products.)

There is always a fear when you first enter a public toilet; what condition will it be in? Will it be clean? Will there be paper to wipe the posterior? Towels (paper or linen) to wipe your hands after washing? Will the smell be overwhelming? In North America gasoline service stations used to have a horrible reputation for the cleanliness of their washrooms. I don’t know if that is still true – I don’t think the stations I use have washrooms available to the public. Times have changed.

I first encountered an African toilet in Liberia, at Monrovia’s international airport, back in 1989. It was an eye-opener at the end of 30 hours of travel. My memory may be playing tricks, but my recollection is of just a hole in the floor with foot markers to help your aim. It stank – that much I remember for sure. I don’t think there was paper. Or a sink for hand washing. It may have had an earthen floor. Maybe I’m culturally insensitive, but it seemed to me to be rather primitive.

I have since encountered similar toilets when travelling in Turkey, in Iraq and (surprisingly to me) in Italy. I haven’t become a fan. It strikes me that these toilets must be especially difficult for the elderly. There are no hand rails to hold onto while you squat.

I was in a new restaurant in Duhok, in northern Iraq, and the stalls seemed to be evenly divided between the Thomas Crapper-type seated toilets and the type where you just have to squat. I assume therefore, since it was a new place, that some people still prefer the squat type. I have no idea why. The modern flush toilet has been around since 1596 and its superiority is, I would say, obvious.

I should have taken a picture in the first restaurant I visited the last time I was in Iraq. The condition of the hole was such that I opted to wait; the feces floating in an overflowing floor basin convinced me that I really could wait. I should have taken a picture, but I don’t usually take a camera with me into a washroom.

But I did do so a few days later, because I knew I would be writing about this experience. If you haven’t traveled much you may have no real idea what I am talking about, so here’s an example, a clean toilet from Erbil International Airport. This was the only clean toilet of this type I saw on my trip to Iraq, but I will admit I looked for familiarly designed facilities when I was out in public. Maybe I’m just not cut out for travel if I have trouble adapting to something so basic.