Those that have been to Poland will have seen that quite a lot of the toilets are of the 'Shelf' kind. If you are not familiar with this kind of toilet then let me explain. Shelf toilets are popular throughout Germany and Eastern Europe as they enable German or Polish people to inspect the contents of their poop in case they have some kind of terrible intestinal disease or worms.
It is illegal to install these toilets in the UK. I have seen them in other countries though. I believe they were designed for those who like to inspect their stools.
It's a Russian toilet, they have those in Turkey and many other Eastern countries. Basically it's a hole in the floor and you squad over it. When you done you throw your used toilet paper in the basket next to it, because the pipes are so small over there toilet paper will clog them. I wonder what's that sign say?
If you take the route up to the five lakes in the tatra mountains, there is a sort of youth hostel there and they have exactly the same toilets...legs apart and aim carefully was the rule of the day!!
Basically it's a hole in the floor and you squad over it
The point is to be experienced and not miss the target because it may have terrible consequences.You need to target straight to the hole and be able to squat for a long time,so it is a good activity for strengthening calf muscles.(of course elderly people often get lost by it,that is why there is the old saying that elderly people die either by fall or by sh1tting).
The other important skill needed in such toilets is how to p1ss without mocking your trousers.However anatomically maybe the turkish toilet is better fit for the action than the european one.
Meanwhile I've recently read a interview with an oncologist - an activist for some sort of a colon cancer (and related diseases) awareness program - who bemoaned the fact that 'shelf' toilets are becoming less and less popular in Poland. Apparently something as simple as noticing that your 'average' poop has changed might save your life.
Mind you, I have the 'western', if you like, type of toilet installed at home, but can definitely I see his point, back from when I was going through a CJD/cancer scare.
That's one thing they might tell you to check (to see if you're digesting fats properly? IANAD) , but back in the day I was told to monitor consistency/texture and check for minute traces of blood. Kind of hard to do when it's already sunk & mixed with water ;) And let's not even talk about taking poop samples to the lab ;)
far be it from me to want to gross you out further but has anyone else noticed that the consistency and colour of their poopages really change when they go to poland?
That's one thing they might tell you to check (to see if you're digesting fats properly? IANAD) , but back in the day I was told to monitor consistency/texture and check for minute traces of blood. [...] And let's not even talk about taking poop samples to the lab ;)
You need either a shelf toilet or a potty for this. I think a self toilet is better... nobody forces you to look when not necessary.
Oh no, I nearly almost forgot about those toilets!!
Had a bad first experience with them. Never seen such a design before. Anyway, not sure I can even tell this story without my face turning beet red. But here goes. I have an aversion to public toilets, so suffice it to say that after the long transatlantic flight, and then the five hour drive from Warsaw, I was quite in need of a visit to the toilet. It really had been days, and I was dying. So, when I finally settled in the apartment of my hosts, I decided to head to the bathroom.
OK...not very feminine thing to talk about, but this was the load of the century. And, unhappily, the bathroom was right near the kitchen where everyone was gathered about the table for some food.
Not wanting to spoil the nice smells from the kitchen, I was eager to flush it....but the dang thing would not budge off the shelf. OK. What do I do.....come out and ask how you get it off? Is there a pooper scooper somewhere? Why is the water pressure not enough? With each moment, I felt like they must be thinking I got lost in the toilet. Finally, I looked and they used newspapers in the kitty box next to the toilet. Good papers....push...over the cliff. Whew...flush. Come out.
Not same experience, but I felt kind of like this..... youtube.com/watch?v=KgB8uuWfX5M
I just went to Poland for the 1st time this summer. I loved the shelf toilet! First of all, the water I just peed in does not splash me in the behind!
Second of all, yeah, I can see the logs I just dropped. SOmetimes one needs to it check out to see if everything is OK. I had borscht and had bloody stools. Normally I would not have been able to see that, if I had used an American toilet.
3rd - where i live we almost ran out of water. these look like low water useage toilets.
My gramps died on his American toilet - heart attack. He was sitting down - so it really doesn't matter the style of toilet. It's the act of pushing....and excertion.
I like the turkish-style in ground squat pots. It is way cleaner - and the fact that there is a hose or little pot to wash yourself even better!
