I cannot imagine Modern Toilet expanding to America. Our country is a church to shame: We hide what we do not understand. In the U.S., the human body is a secret horror: a mysterious, unknowable territory to which the head is unfortunately attached. Going to the bathroom is done on porcelain thrones to counterbalance the sad truth shitting exposes, that we are lumps of sentient meat that spend our days filling one hole and excreting out the other. Work, which consumes so much of our time, exists for little reason other than to support our daily habit: eating, shitting, sleeping.



In Shanghai, at least, things are different. It is not unusual to see small children going to the bathroom in public spaces. For example, I was on the Bund on a busy Saturday. A just-married couple, as they do, was having their photographs taken with the dramatic skyline of Pudong as a backdrop. The groom was Chinese and wearing black pants and a scarlet jacket. The bride was blonde (American, I think) and wearing a scarlet wedding dress with a long train that had cutouts like paper. The photographer worked with a crew to take the shots. At one point, the photographer crouched to take several photos. A small boy of maybe two squatted down a few feet from the photographer. A crowd had gathered by then. The little boy, who wore cutout pants that many small children do in China, squatted and peed on the walkway. His mother stood nearby, smiling and snapping a photo of her son as he let forth his stream.



I had no trouble eating the desserts that looked like shit at the toilet-themed restaurant. It wasn't a big deal to me. The food was quite tasty. The ambiance was amusing. Of course, I suppose it is a matter of personal taste.

