Toilet

The significant symbol of relief and sanitation, deriving in 1828, the original meaning of toilet, or toilette, is of French origin meaning the "act of washing, dressing, and preparing oneself".

"According to bathroom historian Frank Muir, the toilet and/or the outhouse have at one time or another been called the House of Honor (by the ancient Israelites), the House of the Morning (by the ancient Egyptians), the garderobe (literally, "cloakroom"), the necessarium, the necessary house, the reredorter (literally, "the room at the back of the dormitory"), the privy (that is, the private place), the jakes, the john, the loo, the W.C. (for water closet), room 100 (in Europe), the lavatory, the closet of ease, and many other things.

And bravo to China for inventing toilet paper at 1391 AD! - The Bureau of Imperial Supplies began producing 720,000 sheets of toilet paper a year, each sheet measuring two feet by three feet. For use by the Emperors. The first to market the first rolls of paper is Scotts Paper Company later on acquired by Kimberley Clarke. Thou shalt remember the word CRAP for Thomas Crapper invented the toilet.



Last but not least, tips on how to spot a public toilet in Malaysia:
Fearing Malaysian Public Toilets

1. You know when one is nearby - just follow your sense of smell.

2.It is a rare sight to see the toilet seat un-cracked/footprint-less. (Makes you wonder what a toilet seat is actually for).

3. Despite the whole hi-tech-savvy outlook of those new in-the-middle-of-nowhere-comes-a-public-toilet units scattered around the city centre, there is a person wedged somewhere in the middle collecting your twenty cents.

4. Never are its surroundings dry.

5. There was once I witnessed how the cleaners clean the toilet - by using the mop to mop up the wet floor, they also use the same mop to wipe the toilet seat (this was one of the shopping malls in KL, by the way).

6. Wonder how some people can leave the toilet without flushing it and not feel guilty about it.

7. The cleaners have hideouts in the vicinity of the toilets. Despite the authentic smell, I admire the fact that some of them can still enjoy their buns and pastries in such environment.

8. Some public toilets have the cheek to ask you to pay an entrance fee, promising that they'll keep the toilets clean for you. What's with paying 50 cents to access a no-toilet-paper, no-soap, all-wet-all-over-the-floor, dysfunctional-locks kind of toilet?