The Owner Built Home & Homestead
(Page 18 of 23)
The present chapter is a definite response to readers'
comments. More readers picked up an offhand mention of the
squat-toilet (p. 38) than any other item in Volume III. So
the squat-toilet idea will be discussed here. And it will
be discussed in its proper context as a feature of the
large problem of bathroom waste disposal. A proper
toilet suggests a proper disposal system and this further
suggests a proper structure to accommodate the necessary
facilities.
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And by "proper" I refer, as usual, to Ralph Borsodi's
criteria: Is it healthful? Is it economical? Is it pleasing
to behold? One need not be reminded that modern bathroom
systems are ugly, expensive and unhealthful. If you wish to
know how much your conventional bathroom plumbing and
drainage system costs, count the number of fixtures in the
house, including lavatories, water closets, bathtub, water
heater. This total multiplied by $400 gives a close
estimate of plumbing costs. Add to this the room area
multiplied by $10 and you have a surprising total of about
$2500 for an average-size bathroom and drainage facility.
Finally, the "healthful" aspects must be considered. It can
be factually stated that the conventional water toilet is
not healthful. The high sitting position is artificial and
unhygienic. Nor is it healthful to pollute bodies of water
with water-borne sewage. Each year 4.5 million tons of
sewage sludge is dumped into the oceans from North America.
This represents 4.5 million tons of nitrite contaminant and
it also represents 4.5 million tons of potentially valuable
fertilizer not returned to the land. The experts
are in unanimous agreement on the subject of toilet height
(as quoted from Kira's book):
The ideal posture for defecation is the squatting position,
with the thighs flexed upon the abdomen. In this way the
capacity of the abdominal cavity is greatly diminished and
intra-abdominal pressure increased, thus encouraging the
expulsion of the fecal mass. The modern toilet seat in many
instances is too high even for some adults. The practice of
having young children use adult toilet seats is to be
deplored. Beckus, Gastro-Enterology, p .
511.
Man's natural attitude during defecation is a squatting
one, such as may be observed amongst field workers or
natives. Fashion, in the guise of the ordinary water
closet, forbids the emptying of the lower bowel in the way
Nature intended . . . It is no overstatement to say that
the adoption of the squatting attitude would in itself help
in no small measure to remedy the greatest physical vice of
the white race, the constipation that has become a
contentment. Hornibrook, The Culture of the
Abdomen, p . 75.
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