| I don’t know if these things exist in other countries, but one thing Americans all find weird in Germany are the trophy toilets. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, they are also commonly referred to as poo-shelf toilets.I don’t know what these things are about, but I have heard it gives you the chance to do a little self-diagnosis of your bowel sample, and maybe help you to decide to change up your diet or something. Whatever the reason, these Leistungstoiletten are pretty weird to non-Germans. |
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deutsche Übersetzung für Astrid
Astrid,
Hi, na?
hier die Übersetzung:
Deutsche Merkwürdigkeiten - Trophäen-Toiletten
Nicht erwiesen ist, ob diese Dinger auch in anderen Ländern existieren, aber eine Sache, die alle Amerikaner in Deutschland merkwürdig finden sind die Trophäen-Toiletten. Sollten Sie nicht wissen, wovon die Rede ist, diese Dinger sind allgemein auch als Kackregaltoiletten bekannt.
Der Sinn dieser Toiletten ist noch unbekannt, es wird angenommen, dass man so die Chance hat, eine kleine Selbstdiagnose anhand des Beispielstückes durchzuführen, und eventuell bei der Entscheidung zu helfen, ob man seine Ernährung umstellen sollte. Welcher Sinn auch immer dahinter steckt, diese Leistungstoiletten sind ziemlich merkwürdig für Nicht-Deutsche.
Viele Grüße auch an Jörn,
John
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April 27th, 2008 at 3:11 am
Yuck. I’d rather hold it.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Well, I admit that these toilets are a bit different from those in the US. But they surely have one big benefit: you dont get your butt went from water splashing up when “using” them!! Plus, the French have toilets to stand in - now tell me what is weird!
April 28th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
i just wanted to apologize to all my mission companions….
April 28th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I live in Germany and I have never seen a toilet like this my entire life.
April 29th, 2008 at 5:00 am
Keep looking Maria.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
God, I wish I had one of these. So many times, I have had what, in America, is called a “ghost”. This happens when you turn around to look at your accomplishment and it has “vanished” into the depths of an American toilet. With a trophy toilet, I could even save my massive accomplishment to show my friends. Well done Germany. Well done.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
hilarious! i am german and i know of this toilet i always wondered about it a little bit but accepted it acquiescently. Thanks for pointing that one out. These Trophy Toilets are dying out though. Self-diagnosis is going out of fashion i think.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:55 am
You’re right, these toiletes exist (and are pretty usefull, e.g. if your doctor needs something to analyze). But in new houses, their aren’t used and in a few years, they’ll be extinct.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I actually laughed out loud when I read “poo shelf toilets” SO FUNNY…and true!
Thanks for writing this blog…it’s hilarious!
May 4th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I, too, laughed out loud at this. I remember these toilets in Germany. I was always amazed at how many different styles of toilets there were and how many different ways they could be flushed. There were levers up high on the wall attached to a box above them, there were pull knobs on top of the back and there were push knobs on top of the back etc. I think it would be interesting to take a tour of Germany and see how many different kinds of toilet flushers you could take a picture of and post. As for the shelf toilets, they have them in Russia too and, what’s worse, you couldn’t put any paper down the toilet in themwhere I was. You have no idea how hard it is to retrain yourself to not wipe and drop the paper in. Not to mention how gross it is to have to retrieve the toilet paper when you forget and drop it. Perhaps the shelf was designed to make that easier.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Unter http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilette wird der Unterschied zwischen Flach- und Tiefspüler erklärt
May 5th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I’m german and was raised in a flat with such a “Flachspüler”, so I was used to it. “Normal” toilets were weird as I could not get used to a wet butt
I’m now living with the “American Style” for over 12 years and like them.
My girlfriends parents have still one of these old fashioned ones and I must admit, that I hate this toilet…
May 5th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I wonder why a country so full of people willing to sue each other over crap is astounded by the fact that another country at least has toilets that stop your butt from being splashed by the crap you leave behind…
Note from the editor: Remember we are prude Americans and don’t like dirty words in the comments
May 5th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I totally agree with KingPin, but the builtin “splash-shower” in “non-German” toilets is certainly an achievement mankind shouldn’t underestimate.
But then, maybe the “dirty splashes” are mitigated by simply flushing a few more times? … and thus wasting easily several times the amount of drinking water many people on Earth are yearning for everyday?
Knowing both types, I’d usually prefer the described one, although I have to live with the “splashy” one.
@Laura: In the Middle East you can also find those toilets where you are supposed to flush without paper. The reason is very simple, though: narrow pipes. Yep … while the **** is expected to squeeze through, the paper is known to get stuck. Apart from that, a nasty habit of students in Russia could explain it there: they’re “recycling” the newspapers that way
May 6th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I’m a proud owner of a “Flachspüler” and a little self- diagnosis wouldn’t anyone.
The term “Leistungstoilette” is hilarious.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
@ Viðarr: Well, in the case of ‘dirt splashes’ you just use a toilet brush which I ‘m always searching for in American households. Also makes the cleaning way more bearable
May 6th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
They’re weird for Germans too.
At least it doesn’t allow everybody passing the bathroom to hear what your just doing because it’s just falling directly into the water with a loud splash…
May 7th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Granted, this design (Flachspüler, aka Trophy Toilet) has its advantages and disadvantages. One, if not THE advantage is that you don’t get your butt wettened by the “backlash”
Another one is the sound level, and the different angle. Don’t wanna go into detail, but it has to do with the male size.
Disadvantages are the odour, which can develop its full potential, opposed to when your… product is submerged in water. And it’s prone to skid marks.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I had one of these in my apartments and was disguisted every time I went. Water does really help with smell…
Anyway, I think American toilets waste water - there is no need to poo on a shelf.
And the toilet brushes… why make toilets that dont flush the poo away properly?
May 9th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Hi, I’m German. This is weird. When I came back from America for the first time one thing I mentioned to all my friends was the difference in toilets.
I thought the American “water bowl style toilets” was annoying because of the way your poo gets some kind of circular tour in a swirl that is elivated before the excrement is flushed away at last.
So this “lap of honor” seems to be the American equivalent to the German trophy thing in order to value your “result”.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Speaking of unusual toilet experiences: The first time I had an experience with a American toilet that flushed automatically after I got up from the seat, I almost got a heartattack. After I had laughed my butt off discovering my first drive-thru ATM, this was the second ground-breaking experience that should shape my picture of the American culture unchangeably.
As a natural germophobe, I learned to appreciate these self-flushing toilets in public bathrooms though. This way, nobody has to push a button that others have pushed before after using the bathroom. Another American accomplishement that will eventually save the world.
What literally stinks is when the self-flushing mechanism give up and do not do their job. Cause, Americans apparently don’t bother to flush the toilet manually in case of a mechanical flushing-failure… This way I unwillingly have had the chance to admire many people’s “trophys”. Thanks, America!
May 15th, 2008 at 8:57 am
That’s nothing compared to these Japanese or Korean style toilets. Try to figure out what all the symbols and graphics are for, pull a small lever and be ready to jump up in surprise as your a** will be sprayed.
It’s strange. Or cool. No, definitely strange.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I’ve never seen such a john though I’ve lived in Germany most of my life. Was weird to me as well to meet such a obscure bowl. Must be something chiefly north german!
May 16th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Oh, you’ve never seen a french toilet…
THAT is weird!
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
*lol*!!!!!
I hate these toilets too!!!! I am german but we always had a “normal” toilet. But trophy-toilets are the reason i rather wait till i’m home again *g*
May 25th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I have to admit I’m torn between the standard toilet and the trophy toilet (very good term, btw!). Having grown up in a house with the old “trophy” version, I’m still appalled every time my butt gets hit by splashes of the water I urinated into a few seconds before… And unless you tend to keep sitting to read or whatever, without flushing, it doesn’t really smell much more.
BTW, even the European standard toilets are different from the American ones - they just flush with water, while the US counterparts somehow suck the contents out first (like on a plane) before replacing the empty bowl with fresh water. Also, the American toilets are almost filled to the brim with water. I remember the first time I got off a plane there, I thought the toilet was clogged…
June 4th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
6-9 Liter. Remember, we like it efficient.
We would never fill up the whole bowl with water. *g*
June 5th, 2008 at 10:38 am
@Susanna: you use the brush to clean your buttocks from the splashes?
June 24th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Well, this is a quite old custom which can be found in archaelogical sites also Our ancestors used this terrace toilet (correct designation) for fortunetelling. If you needed to know something special we were used to call a midwife to help with the interpretation of the produced.
Best regards, Anni
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
We had these in Italy as well, so ..yes, they are in other countries too.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Na so spritzt kein Toilettenwasser an den Hintern, wenn mal ein etwas größerer Haufen gelegt wird.
Meiner persönlichen Meinung nach sind diese Toiletten dadurch angenehmer zu verwenden, da sich der Toilettengang, insbesondere bei öffentlichen Toiletten, einfach sauberer anfühlt.
It’s because in this way there won’t be toilet water on your ass while putting a bigger peace in it.
In my opinion these toilets are more comfortable to use because especially while using public toilets you feel much cleaner.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Vergessen zu erwähnen: Aus meiner Sicht stinken Tiefspüler genauso wie Flachspüler, da die Ausscheidungen entweder oben schwimmen oder dem Körper dennoch entsprechende Gase entfleuchen, die ja nicht durch das Toilettenwasser von der Luft abgeschottet werden.
Forgot to say: Both toilet types, trophy toilets as american style ones stinks the same way. This is because the poo swims on top the water and if not there will be gases came out from the guy who is doing his job and so the toilet water won’t be able to defend the air from stinky human products.