Not to be POO-POOed! Toilet exhibition celebrates the history of human waste - and questions how we'll tackle its future
comments
It may not be the kind of conversation you bring up at a dinner party, but we all use toilets and we all produce waste.
To celebrate this fact, and get people talking more candidly about faeces, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo has set up its Toilet - Human Waste and Earth's Future' exhibition.
The exhibition is divided into eight areas covering topics from the smell and shape of human waste to sewage treatment and environmental problems.
There are also giant toilets that teach children where waste goes after its flushed away, bathroom consoles, and themed hats.
There are 2.5 billion people worldwide who don't have access to toilets, leading to
many children dying from unhygienic conditions.
An estimated 2 millions deaths are caused each year by human excrement-related disease. Faeces can contain everything from flesh-eating bacteria to parasites.
However, it could be possible to put it to good use. Scientists claim that worldwide, human waste produces 70 million tons of nutrients.
This in turn could be used to produce 40 per cent of the 176 million tons of nutrients needed to produce chemical fertilizer, according to Vice.
The exhibition runs until the 5 October.
The Toilet - Human Waste and Earth's Future' exhibition is being held at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo. The exhibition is divided into eight areas covering topics from the smell and shape of human waste (pictured) to sewage treatments and environmental problems
There are also giant toilets (pictured) fitted with slides, bathroom consoles, and themed hats to be worn by children visiting the exhibition, which runs until the 5 October. The toilet slide is designed to teach children where waste goes after the toilet has been flushed
Another section looks at the differences between animals faeces. The tiny poo of a lizard is pictured left, next to the larger faeces of the giant panda, right. This area also teaches visitors about gut flora, which determines the condition of faeces, as well as a person's health
The exhibition was set up to take 'a frank, entertaining look at what the perfect toilet would be for people around the world' and encourages visitors to talk more candidly about 'the generally taboo subject of the toilet'
Interactive areas in the exhibition let children create faeces using plasticine (pictured left) and play games consoles fitted in bathrooms (pictured right)
This image shows a young visitor looking at a typical Japanese squat toilet. A small piece of faeces sits above it. This section is designed to highlight the problems people have with bowel movements from school age up to when people are in nursing homes
Adult guides are on hand to explain different matters related to toilets to the children throughout the exhibition. In this image, an adult visitor is shown putting on the faeces hat
Children dance and sing during the talking toilet performance at the exhibition. The talking toilets explain what happens to waste once it has been flushed away, as well as why keeping toilets clean is so important
A traditional Japanese toilet and bathroom shoes. It is customary in Japan to replace outdoor shoes with slippers when entering someone's home. The bathroom is considered a separate part of the house, and guests are expected to take off their house slippers and use a pair of bathroom slippers (pictured) instead
ARE THESE THE TOILETS OF THE FUTURE?
The flush toilet has served the world for more than 130 years but the bog-standard design has been given an eco-friendly facelift.
Student designers have come up with a range of futuristic toilets that are better for the environment and could even prevent diseases.
The 'Wellbeing Toilet' was recently crowned winner at a competition organised by Dyno-Rod Drains, which asked designers to create a loo that 'benefits our health and the environment'.
The design - made from concrete, marble and ceramics - is the world's first ergonomically-correct toilet.
It forces the user to sit in a 'healthier' squat position that helps reduce the risk of intestinal cancer and hemorrhoids, its designers claim.
The 'Well-Being Toilet' makes the user sit in a 'squat' position, which designers claim is healthier and could help prevent health problems such as constipation and colon cancer
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment