German toilets have a shit shelf. So you can't help but 'check' it as you toss the used paper down after it. The flush produces a mad rush of water, so if the stool is loose, stand well back.
I am told the Germans like to inspect the stool, hence the shelf. It could be for worms (schnitzel is pork) but more likely it is a slightly disinhibited (to Brit minds) interest in bodily functions.
How did we ever win the war? Easy - we shot them while they were gawping at their poo. Not a lot of people know that.
The Dutch seem to have had those toilets and then shied away from them, older hotels and an old rental apartment had them, the rest didn't. Absolute horrors to use after a heavy night.
Germans along with a lot of eastern European countries eat a lot of raw pork (in the form of pates etc) I assume this is why they tend to have shelves!
[h=1]Germany[/h]I am told that some German toilets have a shelf inside the toilet. This may sound confusing, until I reveal that your poop lands on the shelf, and then you can get up and take a good look at it to make sure everything is A-okay with your innards. Really! The good news is that evidently not everybody has such a toilet. I wonder how much you can tell from taking a look at your craps? I heard a story once that Moby (a vegan), upon hearing of the distress of a carnivorous friend of his in a stall invited him over to his stall to take a look at what a “real crap looks like”. Again, really.
I used to work in Holland and always lined the "shelf" with toilet paper a la foil on a grill pan. This meant the creation of a log flume effect, when flushing, with minimum skiddage residue.
Pros: Your poos are delivered silently without the depth charge effect that can alert others in the house to you having a massive dump. Also there is no splash back that shoots a drop of water up your ring piece causing you to imagine the water is infected with multiple diseases and panicking to wipe hurriedly and leaving the job unfinished.
Cons: Your silent poo is offset by an increased stinkage effect and you are left with a curled up steaming toilet python millimetres away from the place it exited and with its heady aroma being drawn up like a typhoon between your man danglies or lady garden. In addition it is particularly hazardous for those suffering from the squits!