Fun Facts to Know About Toilets

Toilet habits are a taboo subject for most of us, but not for Harvey Molotch. Salon spoke to the sociology professor, who co-edited Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, about the bathroom fixture. Highlights:

• We should be using water, not toilet paper, to clean up: It's more eco-friendly, and also offers "more complete cleansing," Molotch says.
• Public restrooms should be unisex: Segregated bathrooms are inefficient, make no sense for LGBT people, and are not as secure as unisex bathrooms would be, he argues.

• Japan has the best public restrooms: "They take toilets more seriously than anywhere else in the world."
• The coolest toilet he's ever seen: Is, not surprisingly, in Japan. The top of the toilet is a sink, allowing you to wash your hands but not waste the water—it's used in the next flush.

For the complete interview, including a restroom in New York City that Molotch says is the coolest one he's ever seen, click here. (More toilet stories.)