November 19th, 2010
01:09 PM ET

How are you spending World Toilet Day?

A giant toilet was the centerpiece of a protest earlier this year in London, England.

"Today, you can talk about POOP out in the open," the One Campaign trumpeted on Twitter.

Friday is World Toilet Day, an observance guaranteed to elicit giggles.

But the day has a serious purpose: Organizers call it "a day to celebrate the importance of sanitation and raise awareness for the 2.6 billion people (nearly half of the world's population) who don't have access to toilets and proper sanitation."

Haiti's cholera outbreak demonstrates how important proper sanitation is. More than 1,100 people have died, and thousands more are infected with the illness, which is spread by contact with fecal material.

Diarrheal diseases kill more children than malaria and five times as many children in the developing world as HIV/AIDS, according to UNICEF. Diarrhea stunts growth and forces children to miss school and adults to miss work, the agency adds.

The nonprofit World Toilet Organization is calling for improved water safety, more public toilets, better cleaning and maintenance of existing toilets, and acknowledgment of women's needs in public restroom planning.

"Studies show that women take longer to use restrooms than men. If there are three toilets for each gender, though, the women's room will have a far longer line. You've seen it happen in stadiums, theaters, and malls - that's because archaic building codes don't consider women's physiological needs," the group says on its website.

If you want to do something to celebrate the day, try visiting www.flushtracker.com. If you live in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa or Poland, you can track where your "stuff" goes when you flush.

The default location for the U.K. page is Buckingham Palace.

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Filed under: Architecture • Cholera • Health • World
soundoff (21 Responses)
  1. dolores

    On it!

    November 19, 2010 at 1:14 pm | Report abuse |
    • I am disappoint

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      November 19, 2010 at 11:23 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Mogwi

    I'm going to celebrate by pooping.

    November 19, 2010 at 1:18 pm | Report abuse |
  3. cesar

    2.6 Billion people don't have toilets? This is bad.

    November 19, 2010 at 1:30 pm | Report abuse |
  4. ideas

    or decent food and water, shelter and transportation

    November 19, 2010 at 1:39 pm | Report abuse |
  5. The Dude

    I'm celebrating by opening a fresh roll of my "Congressional Toilet Paper"... each sheet contains a portrait of a member of congress.

    So here's your chance to tell congress to "EAT S***"... they've been telling you to eat it long enough. Order your's today, while supplies last!

    November 19, 2010 at 2:32 pm | Report abuse |
  6. K jacktown michigan

    money making idea duke, i would take great joy in wiping my a.ss with their face! BRILLIANT

    November 19, 2010 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
  7. The Dude

    Check Amazon. There is already Nancy Pelosi TP... but why limit it to her?

    November 19, 2010 at 3:12 pm | Report abuse |
  8. kimski

    I'm having a nice poop right now. Happy toliet day everyone

    November 19, 2010 at 4:18 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Hello

    I'm constipated. 🙁

    November 19, 2010 at 4:55 pm | Report abuse |
  10. duke

    It should be spent flushing the souls of those who believe rich people should rule the world!
    And may their children follow,
    You idiots voted the people of greed in office,now we are all through!

    November 19, 2010 at 5:22 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Richard in Texas

    All hail the invertor Mr. Crapper

    November 19, 2010 at 5:40 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Richard in Texas

    Sorry Sir Thomas Crapper

    November 19, 2010 at 5:42 pm | Report abuse |
  13. i rock

    Diarreha is the sh its!

    November 19, 2010 at 7:14 pm | Report abuse |
  14. i rock

    i like to go to old country buffet take a dump then put my finger in my butt and swirl it in the chocolate pudding dont worry the gays adopt my poop as a child unless i flush

    November 19, 2010 at 7:15 pm | Report abuse |
  15. lvgirl

    Maybe celebrate reading that little kid book *everybody poops!*

    November 19, 2010 at 7:29 pm | Report abuse |
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