On Fri, 22 Sep 2000, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Rob Schaap wrote:
>
> >So, Doug, what's your take on that ledge in the average Dutch toilet bowl -
> >y'know, the one where the health-conscious Dutchman can poke and prod at
> >his product in search of worms and the like, before it's shot off the ledge
> >by way of a lateral flush?
>
> Fascinating topic, the topic of much speculation when my companion &
> I visited A'dam this past June. Also fascinating was the Dutch habit
> of keeping a brush next to the toilet bowl, forcing the user to
> confront his or her residues before removing all traces of the
> evidence. Cf. Americans, who use something like 8 gallons of water
> per flush to avoid direct confrontation with the rejected material.
> Americans seem to go for a mechanized and resource-intensive
> repression, while the Dutch crave a much franker confrontation with
> their wastes. Wonder if it has something to do with the happier, more
> relaxed Dutch temperament, in contrast with the manic American flight
> from the darker aspects of life.
One could just as well say the opposite. The Dutch, like the Germans (who have the same shelf) are generally stereotyped not as relaxed but as anal, and that's the usual explanation most of them proffer for the shelf. Big cities, like Amsterdam, Berlin or New York, are all considered by natives to be exceptions to their national characters, whatever they think they are.
I think the American flood toilet is better explained as a relative of the American cataract shower -- as opposed to the dish-spritzer deep sink favored in Europe. Or American air-conditioner or heating habits. The waste we love wallowing in is the waste of resources.
Michael
PS -- In all seriousness, I believe the shelf was originally designed to keep narrow, low-pressure water pipes from clogging by breaking up the solid clump.
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com