“ You never realise what you have until it’s gone… Toilet paper is a good example.” - Anonymous
Did you know there was such a thing as a "World Toilet Day" on the 19th of November? [1]
I must admit that it initially made me smile and I thought about flushing out few jokes on the topic. Then I found out that about 60% of the world population currently has no access to safely managed sanitation services and decided to dig into the topic a bit more (not literally!).
I am on a roll now … note these intriguing statistics [2]:
Out of the 7.7 billion people in the world, more than 6 billion people have access to a mobile phone. Compared to only 4.5 billion people who have access to a working toilet
If you are planning to travel around the world, here is where you are most and least likely to find a public toilet when nature calls: The big winner is Iceland with 56 toilets per 100K population, Australia 37, France has 23, UK 15, USA 8 and sadly many countries in Africa as well as Mexico, Brazil and Philippines only have 1.
I am sorry to announce that mobile phones are 10 times dirtier than toilet seats [3] and you will find it useful to know that in a public place the 1st toilet is the least used, and consequently the cleanest!
Toilets are a commodity that we often take for granted yet the average person will spend a cumulative three years sitting on the toilet over a lifetime.
So what do people do during those 3 years on the throne? Do they use it as a place of solitude, to think, relax, have some alone time?
Well … it looks like 3 out of 4 people use their phone whilst on the toilet [3].
Image credit: Inspiration from various web sources, initial origin unknown
I can see your look of surprise, wait for this, it gets better.
Have you ever taken your phone for a ‘toilet swim’?
You are not alone; 1 in 5 women and 1 in 8 men have dropped their phone down the toilet. Easily done when the phone sits in a back pocket!
Actually, if you are an ‘Apple’ user there is a specific term to use when you drop your iPhone or iPod in the toilet - You are doing an iTurd!?
It is not even a new word and can be traced back to 2007 in the urban dictionary, the year the first smartphone was launched.
How does your phone end up in the toilet with you?
Is it a deliberate choice, a habit or did you just forget it was in your back pocket?
How about leaving your phone outside the bathroom and focusing on the business at hand?
*** My dare to you this weekend ***
Dare to sit on the throne without your phone
Put a note on the bathroom / toilet door
(or download and use this sign especially made for you!)
... and experience sitting on the throne without your phone!
I invite you to explore your toilet habits and to be more intentional during these private moments given to you by nature throughout the day. A good place to start is to choose whether or not you take your phone to the bathroom with you. Be open and curious and dare to be the change you want to see in your family, community and life!
Let me know how you got on with this #dare, do share your experience in the comment section.
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References: [1] World Toilet Day - worldtoiletday.info
[2] Public toilet statistics - thegatewithbriancohen.com
[3] Phone usage in the toilet - bankmycell.com
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