Image description: a cropped in graphic of a man in a turban squatting on top of a seat-style toilet with an “x” notating that this is incorrect. To the right of that graphic is a similar graphic of a man in a turban sitting properly on the seat-style toilet with a check mark notating that this is correct. Above the graphic call to action appears assorted typed Indic languages, presumably instructing users how to properly mount this toilet.
The left diagram is how Indians used traditional toilets that were flush (I’m proud of that) with the ground. Squat toilets are still used in many parts of the world; even within the past decade, easy access to any toilet was a novel concept for around half a billion of India’s residents.
While India is far from the only country to use squat toilets, with many westernized countries preferring the convenient cleanability for public toilets, India is in a rare position where modern hygienic options are suddenly readily available and hygienic literacy is low—especially in communities where literal literacy is also low. So when your stubborn elderly uncle is told that he has to shit in the public bathroom, NOT next to the bus stop, and he decides that he’d be more comfortable squatting 12-16" above the ground on a slippery oval, you’re going to be very thankful that this laughable graphic prevented him from breaking his hip or neck.
Image description: a cropped in graphic of a man in a turban squatting on top of a seat-style toilet with an “x” notating that this is incorrect. To the right of that graphic is a similar graphic of a man in a turban sitting properly on the seat-style toilet with a check mark notating that this is correct. Above the graphic call to action appears assorted typed Indic languages, presumably instructing users how to properly mount this toilet.
The left diagram is how Indians used traditional toilets that were flush (I’m proud of that) with the ground. Squat toilets are still used in many parts of the world; even within the past decade, easy access to any toilet was a novel concept for around half a billion of India’s residents.
While India is far from the only country to use squat toilets, with many westernized countries preferring the convenient cleanability for public toilets, India is in a rare position where modern hygienic options are suddenly readily available and hygienic literacy is low—especially in communities where literal literacy is also low. So when your stubborn elderly uncle is told that he has to shit in the public bathroom, NOT next to the bus stop, and he decides that he’d be more comfortable squatting 12-16" above the ground on a slippery oval, you’re going to be very thankful that this laughable graphic prevented him from breaking his hip or neck.