World Toilet Day: The Twitter gems you might have missed last year

18/11/2014

Please give a thought to World Toilet Day tomorrow! Last year, I was very excited about my post on the subject and tweeted it several times through the day. Alas, although a year on it’s accrued its share of hits and comments, I was unable to garner any interest among my followers on the actual day. I leave you to speculate on the possible reasons, but I don’t think it was due to losing out to more scintillating competition. My timeline was full of writers peddling their Amazon pages; okay, to be expected when one follows lots of indie authors, but hardly the zenith of creativity. Meanwhile, over on the #WorldToiletDay timeline, I was stumbling over erudite, amusing and moving posts, highlighting the centrality of “the great unmentionable” to public health and gender inequality. But you needn’t just take my word for it, have a look at these gems I’ve saved for you from last year:

Read @Annecdotist 's excellent blog post celebrating #WorldToiletDay: http://t.co/FJBKfeDhDD
— Just a Drop (@Just_a_Drop) November 19, 2013

Sanitation doesn't just save lives - New study shows boost in children's cognitive ability #WorldToiletDay http://t.co/kw1mIZkocb
— STARS Foundation (@STARSFdn) November 19, 2013

1 in 3 people don’t have access to a toilet. Take 2 mins & watch this: http://t.co/da31vElfau #WorldToiletDay @WaterAidUK
— The Exemplars (@TheExemplars) November 19, 2013

And here is a little talk I gave for @TED_TALKS on talking crap, seriously. #worldtoiletday http://t.co/XRvUWZRKDK
— Rose George (@rosegeorge3) November 19, 2013

It's #WorldToiletDay - would you like to know why loos are a feminist issue? Of course you would: http://t.co/h74WSRc9JO
— Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) November 19, 2013

You never really appreciate the luxury of using a toilet peacefully& on your own - unless you can't http://t.co/OadUYTZCBa #WorldToiletDay
— Jane Philpott (@janephilpott) November 19, 2013

On the occ. of #worldtoiletday; 6 of 7 billions have cellphones, only 4,5 bill have access to toilets. pic.twitter.com/wm2p5UbzL1
— Hege Hertzberg (@GhanaHege) November 19, 2013

MT @defeatDD: Celebrate #WorldToiletDay everyday with the #PlacesWeGo calendar! On the blog, our winners celebrate: http://t.co/kkDD2KIk4r
— J&J Global Health (@JNJGlobalHealth) November 19, 2013

I’m adding this coda to my post a few days after the original, because the wonderful Charli Mills has made this topic her November 19 Flash Fiction Challenge. Can you write a 99-word story that features a toilet? Mine is an alternative take on my longer epistolary flash, Bathroom Suite.

Culture Shock

We’d travel through the sky to live with Appa. There’d be snow, not only on the mountain tops, and people’s wealth would make them smile. “Is it today, Amma?” I asked each morning as we squatted on the riverbank. “Is it today?”

There was no snow, no mountains even. The English – white-skinned as if dusted with talcum powder – scowled. And there was nowhere to go.

Appa showed me a porcelain throne in a tiny room. I dared not squat on that hollow seat lest I fall through. I followed the dog to the garden. The neighbours screamed, “Filthy Wog!”

25 Comments

Norah Colvin link

18/11/2014 03:15:09 am

Thanks for sharing these Anne. I missed it last year - will have to look out for it this year! I guess you'll be flush with tweets to post! :)

Charli Mills

18/11/2014 09:40:56 am

LOL

Annecdotist

19/11/2014 01:46:31 am

Ditto! Humour helps get the message across.

Norah Colvin link

18/11/2014 03:18:31 am

For a moment there I thought it was the same day as World Philosophy Day, but fortunately not, that's Thursday :) http://en.unesco.org/events/world-philosophy-day-2014

Annecdotist

19/11/2014 01:48:13 am

Ah, next year there'll have to be a post on the philosophy of toilets (I do have some papers on toilet psychology but didn't have time to plough through them this year)

Norah Colvin link

20/11/2014 03:26:44 am

I believe some people do their best thinking on the toilet. I could be a bit 'sacrilegious' by suggesting this image: http://goo.gl/WxIIth

Annecdotist

20/11/2014 08:15:48 am

You're absolutely right, Norah, it's a perfect pairing. I can envisage people finding their inspiration for Charli's flash fiction challenge on the toilet too http://carrotranch.com/2014/11/20/november-19-flash-fiction-challenge/
Thanks for the link – it made me smile – never thought of Rodin's Thinker as sitting on the toilet, but it works! Look forward to seeing it developed on your blog.

Charli Mills

18/11/2014 09:44:12 am

Great! Now I have an idea for the next prompt! I shared your post with my daughter to encourage her to write about these panties that were invented to help resolve feminine bathroom issues in impoverished areas. As Norah says, and I'm still chuckling, hope you are flush with tweets tomorrow!

Annecdotist

19/11/2014 01:55:00 am

Haha, Charli, now I'll have to think about toilets in novels to go with my flash. For some reason you don't get to see them very often!I followed your tweets to the Shethinx video. It's great how these young women have found a way of supporting Third World women through finding a solution to Western women's panty embarrassment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyGeyjLlZnE&list=UUlA-TK0IaeGDjIdFfdij7ZA&index=1

Charli Mills

19/11/2014 11:54:46 am

The toilet is taboo in novels. Maybe not directly, but no one mentions the toilet. When I went through my romance novel phase, all manner of sex was mentioned but never how a woman dealt with going to the bathroom among pirates or highlanders. Thanks for finding that great video. I'm off to take pictures of the privy behind the old school next door! Prompt coming soon!

Annecdotist

20/11/2014 08:20:14 am

Rare, but not unknown, I think you've seen my piece about Charlotte Rogan's novel The Lifeboat where she did consider such niceties http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal/3-ways-to-make-life-harder-for-your-protagonists
But you're right, people are much more comfortable reading or writing about sex than toilets.
I'm so grateful for how you've taken this on board and I'm looking forward to the variety of responses to this week's prompt.

sarah link

18/11/2014 01:12:43 pm

Looking forward to looking at all these tweets. Thanks for gathering them together here.

Annecdotist

19/11/2014 01:55:41 am

Thanks, Sarah, I'm thinking the singing toilet might be a fun thing for your kids

Lori Schafer link

19/11/2014 12:50:32 pm

I have to say, these tweets make me take #WorldToiletDay much more seriously - um, now that I've heard of it. In fact, I think I'll make a point of retweeting the tag sometime today! :)

Annecdotist

20/11/2014 08:24:07 am

Thanks, Lori, I had fun spreading the word yesterday (on one of my rare encounters with flesh and blood people) with the bemused reactions when I told people about the significance of the day (had to ignore in real life than on Twitter).

Geoff link

20/11/2014 02:50:02 am

My default position is humour and the toilet is perfect for a gag or two but reading this makes my scatalogical side seem rather pathetic. As you say such a basic and important issue. We have headlines about Ebola, the Queen saying she is worried malaria is being ignored as a result but how much publicity for this killer? Pretty much zip. In a nano num num I posted a clip from the Thick of It with potty mouthed Malcolm Tucker in his Alistair Campbell take off complaining when a minister talks about diarrhoea twice on an interview rather than food parcels. Funny but makes a powerful point about what priorities politicans have. I look forward to the philosophy of toilets by A Goodwin. No one would dare pan it. Sorry.

Annecdotist

20/11/2014 08:29:44 am

Humour can be a great way of bringing serious issues to people's attention (over and above being great in its own right) and yes it's great how this issue connects with your clip, I loved The Thick of It, but how could a politician in this country get away with talking about toilets? As I said in response to Lori, I had some raised eyebrows out in the real world yesterday when people assumed I was making a joke. Actually I am quite interested in exploring that toilet psychology stuff because it's an area where our humour tends to be quite basic (as of course is the activity) but would be interesting to try and get to the bottom of the anxiety (yes, and an area where even saying bottom seems funny)

Charli Mills

22/11/2014 12:42:36 pm

That just crushes my heart! Where do you even begin to help each side of the cultural barrier understand. Beautifully captured culture shock in 99 words!

Annecdotist

24/11/2014 03:46:54 am

Thanks, Charli. When we've grown up with toilets, even if a little afraid of the flush as youngsters, it can be hard to envisage what an alien concept it is to those who haven't.

irene waters link

22/11/2014 02:27:15 pm

A great post Anne. I knew of World Toilet Day last year but it would have passed me by this year had it not been for Charli's prompt. I am going to go back and revise my contribution to put a link to your post. It has so many other great links. Your flash really shows the difference between cultures. Even owning a toilet is such a status symbol in some places and yet the horror of that toilet makes some cringe and not use it. A great portrayl.

Annecdotist

24/11/2014 03:50:28 am

Thank you, Irene, you're only the second person in my two years of sharing World Toilet Day with others who was already informed (apart from these experts in my tweets).
Yes, I've seen those toilets that aren't cleaned, as well as the ones that are such treasure, they can't be used! I'm fascinated by all this cultural differences.

Norah Colvin link

23/11/2014 06:27:33 pm

I'm pleased I ventured back and discovered your flash. Culture shock indeed! As it would be in reverse. You remind me of how lucky I am! Thanks for sharing - spreading the message as you are doing is such an important way of contributing to make change a reality.

Annecdotist

24/11/2014 03:52:26 am

Thanks for coming back, Norah, I'm glad you liked the flash. I doubt I'm making much difference but I suppose it fits with my ethos of bringing forward uncomfortable things!!!