Summer education

[dieseltaylor]

The fine aerosols idea is true but I would think not very high risk. The dangerous one is having your toothbrush in the vicinity as that is more likely to go into your mouth with fine aerosols attached. But lets not overstate the risk as I would think it pretty minute. However if you have the galloping trots or something you might like to bear in mind how far away the toothbrush lives.!!

Re Exercise. True. However I will bet you a pound to a penny that outdoor exercise beats indoor exercise [ not that sort silly!] becuase of the sunlight providing the vitamins. Particularly important the further North you live. Reverse for Southern hemisphere you might think but actually most of the southern hemisphere land masses are much nearer the Equator. : )

They have toilets in Oz???! Must be recent - possibly they put them in for the Olympics or something!

[Magpie_Oz]

I've heard the opposite. In North American studies, women wash their hands more often than men. Maybe it's a cultural thing? I know I was quite put-off during a trip to Australia to find the toilet in a room of its own - and was told this isn't completely uncommon. In order to wash my hands I had to leave the water closet and walk into another room altogether. That didn't stopped me from washing, though. But I was left with the impression that hygiene isn't high on the list of priorities in Oz (not to offend anyone there, but that's what I observed).

Quite the opposite in fact. As Australia is a much hotter climate we spend more tine in the bathroom. Therefore to ease traffic congestion the hand washing facility is placed elsewhere.

That is why "Can I use your bathroom" s not a common way to ask for the toilet.

It's also to distance it from the cleaning stuff because of the aerosol thing you mention.

You will also note if you please that far from being backward in this regard Australia leads the world in toilet technology. Our toilets are of a different, more advanced design that uses considerably less water. We are also responsible for the only major leap forward since Elizabethan times, the Dual Flush Toilet.

[Stalins Organ]

They have toilets in Oz???! Must be recent - possibly they put them in for the Olympics or something!

not at all - they've been full of shirt for a couple of centuries now, and toilets have been a necessity for all of that time

[Bugged]

Quite the opposite in fact. As Australia is a much hotter climate we spend more tine in the bathroom. Therefore to ease traffic congestion the hand washing facility is placed elsewhere.

Yep, I could see that being an issue in a one-bath home.

It's also to distance it from the cleaning stuff because of the aerosol thing you mention.

I don't think that was necessarily a consideration when designing this particular house, though. You see, the toilet was off the kitchen (ew). The bathroom was around the corner and down the hall to the very end, where the bedrooms were. I'd have designed it completely opposite because besides the obvious reasons for not wanting the toilet anywhere near the kitchen, I don't like the long walk to the toilet in the middle of the night. I don't mind, however, walking the few extra feet to shower-up in the morning.

Something that's gaining in popularity here is having a doored water closet contained within the bathroom. Also common is having a second bathroom, even if it's only a half-bath. Which reminds me to point out that we have basements, too, which may contain bonus bathrooms (yay for basements!).

You will also note if you please that far from being backward in this regard Australia leads the world in toilet technology. Our toilets are of a different, more advanced design that uses considerably less water. We are also responsible for the only major leap forward since Elizabethan times, the Dual Flush Toilet.

Hmm, that I did not know. I've seen the dual flush toilets throughout my (somewhat limited) travels through Europe. I've seen them in public washrooms here in Canada, and in two of my friends' homes, but not in Oz. I mustn't have used the public toilets much over there. Probably too dehydrated from the heat or somefink.

Great invention, though! It certainly beats "If it's yellow, let it mellow, If it's brown, flush it down" or putting a brick in the toilet tank for displacement. Another option is low-flow toilets - which are all you can purchase in the municipality I live in. They're a real bummer for basement bathrooms due to the weak flush/low gravity combo. But I don't know how they compare to the half-flush of the dual flush toilet.

Anyhow, I stick to the assertion that having the toilet out of the bathroom provides a decentive to washing one's hands. It's too easy to get distracted by other things once you leave the toilet, thereby forgetting to make the trip to the bathroom (which may already be in-use by someone, due to the hot climate). =)

[Bugged]

We are also responsible for the only major leap forward since Elizabethan times, the Dual Flush Toilet.

Reminder: Having the hot and cold taps sharing a single faucet was a major leap forward. Anyone who doesn't believe me should just try washing up where there are two separate faucets - one hot, one cold - on either side of the sink (Damn, how I hate you, Little Bed and Breakfast in England just outside of Gatwick Airport!).

[dieseltaylor]

Having a single tap for that does the mixing for both hot and cold is an even bigger step forward than a single faucet but two taps!

Another step forward is getting rid of the overflow requirment for hand sinks - always a refuge for moulds etc.

Having the bath overflow as an inlet removes the need for taps on the bath - they can be mounted remotely

And showers also with remote mixers which elexctronically get the correct temperature and signal when it is ready : }

[Bugged]

Anyhow, I stick to the assertion that having the toilet out of the bathroom provides a decentive ...

Eh? And by "decentive", I mean disincentive.

[Bugged]

Having a single tap for that does the mixing for both hot and cold is an even bigger step forward than a single faucet but two taps!

Nah, that's just icing on the cake. Two taps, one faucet was the cake. By the way, those single taps are mostly only used in kitchens here, not so much in bathrooms, save for public washrooms.

The next leap was the motion-activated sensor faucets in public washrooms. And the matching motion-activated paper towel dispensers and hand dryers deserve a mention too.

[dieseltaylor]

Eh? And by "decentive", I mean disincentive.

Its Ok we realised you were Canadian

The separate washroom - from the toilet - is a total crock because film shows that after arse-wiping the hand that had the toilet paper is not clean ... so door handle. Yikes.

Seems to be going backwards from the dunny : ). Of course the dunny was the home of the black widow spider .....

[Magpie_Oz]

Of course the dunny was the home of the black widow spider .....

Redback Spider