Toilets are complicated fixtures that may fail in numerous ways. This article describes typical toilet defects, provides information for diagnosing such defects, and offers an overview of toilet designs and functionality.

• “Sitting toilets,” while popular in Western countries, are not as common as “squat toilets” found in most of the world.
• The film “Psycho” (1960) was the first American movie to show a flushing toilet. The scene, believed by many to be indecent, lead to an outburst of complaints.
• An average person visits the toilet 2,500 times a year, about six to eight times a day. You will spend about three years of your life on the toilet.
• Most pharmaceuticals are excreted through urination, which enters sewer systems and eventually contaminates fish. A recent study by the EPA has found fish containing trace amounts of cholesterol-lowering drugs, estrogen, antibiotics, caffeine and anti-depressants.

(read full article on InterNACHI)