Therefore, the shelf toilets were designed to use much less water than their American counterparts - hence the shelf. If you are sick, you can look at your prized matter before flushing it or even take a stool sample for your doctor. Not that you will need this often, but it is an advantage, even though a strange one.
The purpose of the shelf is inspection. You're meant to look at the consistency, shape, color, abnormalities, etc. before flushing, and then hope that the rush of water cleans the shelf enough – otherwise, that's what the brush is for.
Instead of excretions making the plunge straight into the water, this toilet has a prominent shelf midway to catch everything. The natural question is why, oh why!, would Germans create this? And Germans have a practical, disgusting answer. I m told that the shelf is indeed to catch one's leavings for examination.
For Germans, maintaining order and cleanliness is a way of life, and this is reflected in their approach to toilet etiquette. Visitors should be aware of customs such as keeping the toilet seat and lid down, flushing immediately after use, and properly disposing of toilet paper.
The flachspeuler (German for 'flat-flusher', ie. the shelf design) may not be the most pleasant of toilet models but it does have its advantages. Besides the opportunity to do a health check, these toilets save you from being splashed with toilet water with each deposit, and the design and flushing system save water.
In older bathrooms, toilets may come with a pull string instead of a handle (generally with the tank affixed to the wall rather than the toilet itself). In modern bathrooms, you may see two buttons on top of the tank — one performs a regular flush, the other (for lighter jobs) conserves water.
The Germans are progressive - but not in everything. Bidets are (still) rare in German bathrooms. We are changing that! Because the super easy handling and the thorough cleaning result makes the popotti bidet a really great alternative to scratchy toilet paper or strongly perfumed wet wipes.
While Americans in particular are used to flushing their used toilet paper down the pipe, they must break that habit if they are traveling to Turkey, Greece, Beijing, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Bulgaria, Egypt and the Ukraine in particular. Restrooms will have special waste bins to place used toilet paper.
Germany. Tipping is not compulsory, but it's expected that you round up the amount to an even figure. Add about 3-5% tip to the bill. Many public restrooms have an attendant who is usually tipped €0.50.
People stand on them because they are not kept clean enough to sit on. Eventually, after being broken repeatedly, they are no longer replaced for one of two reasons. Either the proprietors decide there's no point in continuing the cycle, so they consign their toilet to the ranks of the seatless.
There is an exception made for toilets that are equipped with a dispenser for the toilet seat cover automatically. Because the majority of public authorities comply with the regulation, the toilet seats in many public restrooms are exposed in the front (also called "split seats").
However, while one of the systems most definitely is a toilet for human waste, the other serves a different purpose. The other "toilet" is in-fact a bidet. You have likely heard of bidet but may not have come across one in the UK, as they are not installed as standard in UK homes or even in most hotels.
It's just a toilet. What most Dutch people don't know is that this toilet is something typically Dutch. For a lot of people coming to the Netherlands it's an unpleasant surprise. What is the typical Dutch toilet? The bowl has a unique shape which includes a sort of shelf, a little bit above the water level.
The more detailed answer is: German toilets used to have a design, where the feces first fell onto a "plate"-type of element, from where they were then later flushed down the tube.
In restaurants, cafés and bars and Berlin, service is usually not included in the bill. Therefore, tipping is customary, but not compulsory. If the bill is paid by credit card, the tip should be given in cash if possible.
The bathroom is the “Badezimmer” in German and the “toilet” is the “Toilette”. Both words work but if you're at someone's home, it's more common to ask for the “ Badezimmer ” while in public you would directly ask for the “ Toiletten ”.
Toilet Fact 2: You will probably have to pay to use a public toilet in Germany. Even in train stations and department stores there's usually an attendant or a coin-operated turnstile. The normal rate is 50 euro cents, but some places charge up to a euro. Airports are the rare exception to the pay-to-pee rule.
Much of Greece's sewage systems was installed during the 1930's and 1940's (by the British) using small bore pipe-work that simply cannot cope with paper waste. A pedal bin is usually provided by the side of the WC in which paper should be placed.
Bidet. France, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Venezuela, and Spain all use bidets, they'll often have toilet paper available in public spaces for tourists, but homes would all have bidets installed. Japan is the one Asian stand-out in that they adopted bidets rather than other ways of washing the bum.
Standing water encourages mosquitoes to breed … something you don't want happening at your house. Tip #2 – Leave the toilet seat up and open when away for an extended time.
Its popularity spread from France to all across Europe and other parts of the world, except for America. Part of the reason is that bidets got a bad reputation. Americans first saw them in World War II in European brothels, so, many associated them with sex work.
Public toilets often do not equip each toilet stall with toilet paper in Russia. Sometimes toilet paper is available outside the stalls. Sometimes there is none to be had. You can purchase small, travel-sized rolls from hygiene-product travel sections in supermarkets or convenience stores.
China uses over 4 billion miles of toilet paper each year – more than any other country. The average Portuguese person uses 643.36 miles of toilet paper in their lifetime – more than any other nationality. It takes 31.11 million trees each year to supply the US with toilet paper.