The Loo

Environmental & Science Education, STEM, Sustainability, Society, Culture, Health, Medicine

Ed Hessler

When he joined NPR to be the editor for global health, Marc Silver (Goats and Soda) reports that he "Became interested in a subset of signage:" Toilet signs! "We cover toilets because of the connection between sanitation and diarrheal diseases. And it turns out there is often a need for an instructive toilet sign."

This led him to do a round-up of  toilet signs, the "amusing and the confusing." The posts were "pegged...to a U.N. event known as “World Toilet Day,” an official United Nations International Observance day.

"The signs are a great example of … toilet humor. Only G-rated! And covering toilet signs is a way to remind the world that a functional indoor toilet is indeed a luxury in many parts of the world – and an important part of disease prevention." 

Goats and Soda "skipped the story last year -- too much pandemic coverage going on."

This story will be revived in 2021 with new images and a story  and there will be "a post ready to share on World Toilet Day."

Here is the story and pictures from 2019. The story adds greatly to the images and may give you a new appreciation for it and sanitation systems. We are among the fortunate of the world (in so many ways).

Submissions are invited for 2021. Email your original photos to goatsandsoda@npr.org and tell them a little about the image.