a transexual toilet in a Thai school !!????!!!

A Thai school has created toilets for its transgender students with a sign that's half male, half female - with the words Transvestite Toilet  printed underneath.

The Kamphaeng School in Si Sa Ket, in northeastern Thailand opened separate toilet facilities to accommodate hundreds of transgender students.
Headteacher, Sitisak Sumontha, estimates that in any year, between 10% and 20% of his boys consider themselves to be transgender - boys who would rather be girls.
These students want to be able to go in peace without fear of being watched, laughed at or groped, he said.
They used to be teased every time they used the boys' toilets so they started using the girls' toilets instead. But that made the girls feel uncomfortable. It made these boys unhappy, and started to affect their work.
They(girls) don't have problems with transvestites but going to the same private area, like a toilet, makes them uneasy, he said.
The transvestite kids may behave even more effeminately than the girls do, but their anatomy is still like that of a boy.
Student Tanisorn Khantivong, aged 17, said: "It was inconvenient when we didn't have our own toilet.
Then we had to use both male and female toilets when there were no people in them. It was a bit uncomfortable.
Mr Sumontha said the students were no longer allowed to use female toilets but could still use the male toilets if they wanted to.
Predominantly Buddhist Thailand is relatively tolerant of homosexuality and Bangkok is a global centre for sex-change surgery.

50 Ways to Flush a Toilet

In the Brussels airport, I saw a new piece of technology that I just had to try out: the Lady P Urinoir (in the ladies’ bathroom, naturally). There were written instructions in four languages: “1. Assume skiing position.”
Fortunately, there were also stick-figure illustrations, otherwise I would have had to puzzle about “skiing position,” not being a skier. This instruction displays a certain cultural insensitivity; surely, at an international airport, they don’t think that every visitor knows how to ski?
It would be useful if other kinds of toilets also came with instructions. I’ve never seen such a bewildering variety of toilets as I have in Italy. The part you sit on is standard (unless you encounter an old-fashioned squatter; some Americans might be confounded by this), but working out how to flush it may be a challenge.

Here are a few of the options I’ve seen:
American-style tank behind the seat, with flush on upper right corner. The flush may be a button on top of the tank, or a plastic tab sticking out of the upper right side of the tank.
High wall-mounted tank (nostalgia items for some of us), with a pull chain dangling down.
Tank or flush pipes hidden in the wall. Here’s where it gets tricky; there are a zillion ways to flush these things, including:
A simple handle that you turn to open a faucet; let the water run til the evidence is flushed away. This ecologically sound – you use exactly as much water as needed – but it’s frustrating when water pressure is low and you’re in a hurry to leave the bathroom.
Buttons on the wall somewhere, usually (but not always) above the seat. This can be a small metal button, or a round plastic one, mounted on a larger plastic plate, that you push once to flush. The cleverest I’ve seen is the double button, a trapezoidal shape divided into larger and smaller sections. I assume that this is a water-saving feature, where the size of the section determines the size of the flush: push the small button for a small job, the big button for a bigger job, or, if you’re really worried, both buttons together.
Step-on rubber button near the floor, sticks out at an angle, usually on the right side of the bowl. Step on it hard for as long as you want the flush to last.
A round plastic button sticking out of the wall at waist level next to the toilet, where you’d more or less spot it while you’re sitting, but may not notice it when you stand up

Note that the “helpful” graphic shows an impossible foot position.
Wave-activated sensor. When you’re done, wave your hand in front of the photocell on the wall behind the bowl (there’s an illustration encouraging you to do this), and the flush will take care of itself.
Automatic flush. These are supposed to detect when you sit down and when you get up again, but they are almost always miscalibrated and go off while you’re still sitting. And they tend to flush hard – eeyow! that water’s cold! Worse, this is the type most commonly found in roadside rest stops, where the bathrooms are not heated in winter.
When you’ve conquered the toilet, you face the challenge of washing your hands. Many bathroom sinks are equipped with photo sensors, but these can be fussy. I have one friend whose hands are transparent to them – no amount of waving around will get her any water; someone else has to put their hand in front of the sensor for her. Some faucets are activated by pedals on the floor, one for hot and one for cold – highly sanitary, as you don’t have to touch anything with the hands you’re trying to clean. I’ve even seen sensor-activated soap dispensers!

Toilet House Won't Flush, Smells Like Ass

In celebration of the first General Assembly of the World Toilet Association, the founder, Sim Jae-duck had this commode house built south of Seoul. The home boasts four deluxe toilets -- whatever the hell those are, and its center has a showcase bathroom, where "the toilets have features that range from elegant fittings to the latest in water conservation devices." The Assembly's goal is to provide clean sanitation for the more than 2 billion people who live without toilets. So why they're building a giant toilet house is a mystery to me. If you happen to be in South Korea go check it out, right at the intersection of Shit Street and Urine Avenue. You can't miss it, it's the house shaped like a f'ing toilet.
One more from the ground after the jump.

Robotic toilet maintains personal hygiene as the sick attends nature’s call

We’ve read and learnt about all the amazing developments in robotics that help paraplegics, physically disabled or people in poor health regain their independence and live a dignified life. However this particular concept goes beyond expectations to maintain privacy and personal dignity of the infirm. Dubbed as Nature’s Call the concept is a mobile robotic toilet especially designed for bed ridden patients.

The interactive device approaches the sick person’s bed upon request. Once used the device automatically rolls back to the station to clean itself. It ensures personal hygiene using a bidet and hair dryer function while at the same time maintaining privacy.

Developed as part of a study project on Ambient Assistan Living, the robot finds great use in geriatric care, retirement home, home care service and rehabilitation clinic calls.

The Hot Poop on Toilet Design in the Developing World

File this one under why design matters: the Humanitarian International Design Organization recently had a call for entries for designs that address the need for sanitary waste disposal solutions in the developing world. They've announced the top three, including Compliance Health Dignity, known also as The Dignity Toilet (shown above), which will continue to be developed.
The other top two designs use African native architecture as starting point and employ composting to achieve self-sufficient sanitation, respectively; all succeeded in the search to find a unique, cheap way adjusted to local customs and possibilities.

Game instructions for Toilet War

 Toilet War is an arcade game on flash-games.net in which you will help a girl to empty the bowels. Here are 9 dishes. Different dishes have different effect on this girl. Move your mouse and click on these dishes. Choose the liquid food like the soup can make the girl more comfortable and happy. Or you can choose these solid foods such as curry, spaghetti, rice, or just bread and biscuit. Different kinds of food can make the girl more uncomfortable in different levels. And the soundtrack is change with different dishes. Of course, you can choose same dishes once again. The game will be ended until you thought that you have tried your best to help the girl! Are you ready? Let’s start it!

How to Use a Squat Toilet in China

The "western" toilet is making inroads into China and in big cities and airports, you'll find a few of them in the row of toilets in the bathroom. However, there are still lots and lots and lots of squatty potties and likely as not, you'll venture into one. It's not as hard as it seems, but it's good to know what you're getting into before you go...


Here's How:
1.Pack Tissues. Before you even leave the hotel, make sure you've got portable toilet paper with you. Lots of public restrooms don't provide it. Wet wipes and hand sanitizer are also good to have along as if there's a sink, there may not be any soap, and probably no towels either.

2.Plan Your Business 1. "Preventive Peeing" or going before you go is a good way to avoid getting caught in a place that won't have a nice toilet. (Nice doesn't necessarily mean Western by the way.) Pretend you're all five years old and make sure everyone goes before you leave the house.

3.Plan Your Business 2. If you're going to be out and about, think about where you'll be and try to plan some pit-stops in between. Especially in big cities, international hotels, upscale restaurants and shopping malls will have clean washrooms with most of the amenities (toilet paper, Western toilets, soap and towels).
Places to avoid using the bathroom: large markets (especially outdoor markets), street-side public bathrooms (though they're improving), tourist spots.

4.Bag Hand-Off. If you can, hand any unnecessary bags to a friend while you use the washroom. There are generally no hooks and you'll need your hands to balance, to dig around your purse for tissues and to hold on to the door if the lock is broken.

5.Queuing Up. If you find yourself outside the comfort of your hotel, don't panic. It won't be unbearable. Queues in China don't work the same way as they do in the States. Women generally line up in front of a particular stall rather than hang back as one opens. This can create a free-for-all so it's best to stick to one door and keep your eye on it. If it happens not to be a Western toilet, better to get in there than re-queue. Many times, doors have pictures or signs indicating Western or squat-style toilets. Also, check the lock, if it's red, then it's occupied. Green means free but always knock.

6.Pants Check. I don't want to scare you but some washrooms are rather wet - either from splash effect or the toilet maid (usually there is someone assigned to sit in the washroom and clean it) running amok with her mop. Either way, it's not moisture you want on your new linen trousers. If it's wet, roll them up, especially if you're in line for a squat toilet. If you see other Chinese ladies rolling, then be sure to. They know something you don't.

7.The Squat. OK, well, you've found yourself in a squatty potty. It's really not that bad and many argue it's actually healthier to go this way than sitting down. Whatever, if you're not used to it, squatting can be really difficult. Face forward and try to let your pants down while ensuring that the ends are up (hopefully you've rolled) and not touching the floor. There are grooved places for your feet on either side of the toilet. Try to get somewhere in the middle, feet flat on the floor (you don't want to fall in, believe me) and aim for the potty.

8.Paper Discard - Not in the Pot! Chinese plumbing in public restrooms generally doesn't handle paper. If you can remember, please put anything other than #1 or #2 in the basket. Try as hard as you can NOT to look at the basket, it's usually open and teeming with things on which you'd rather not lay eyes.

9.Finish Up. Out you go, you accomplished squat toilet user. Unroll your pants, wash your hands, if you can, and find your friends waiting for you outside.

Tips:
1.It's really not that bad once you get the hang of it and isn't it better than hovering over a public toilet seat?
2.A note on the trough. As hideous as this sounds, there are places where there are still troughs in public bathrooms. In these types of public toilets, there are usually door-less stalls facing up to a long trough with water running down from one end to the other. Folks back up and squat over the trough and everything floats away. These types of toilets are going the way of the dinosaur, but consider yourself warned.
3.China's reputation for horrible public bathrooms used to be well-deserved, but these days, the government is doing a lot to improve the state of the facilities. You'll often find public toilets rated with stars. There's a lovely 4-star public toilet on the Sacred Way outside of Beijing, for example.
4.Have a few coins (1-2rmb) with you for use in public restrooms. There's usually a charge and toilet paper will be given with the fee.
5.Try not to freak out about the squat toilets. Likely as not, you won't have to use one and if you do, it's all part of the experience.