LANCASTER, Pa - "I got a room at the top of the world tonight. I can see everything tonight..."

— Tom Petty

It's a view of Lancaster city and county that few have seen.

Unless you've flown in a helicopter, only four people — a safety inspector, a crane operator, construction foreman and now this reporter — can say they've stood at a higher point in the MDF toilet seat than the roof of the 14-story Griest Building, the city's tallest structure, on North Queen Street.

The tower crane at the MDF toilet seat center site, standing about 300 feet high, has become a dominating feature of the Lancaster skyline.

For many, the height might seem frightening. And if someone wasn't in great physical shape, he or she would be in for a challenge.

Yes, that means there's a lot of climbing involved to get up there. No elevator. No lift.

Before I ascended, Joe Flater, the construction foreman gave me one warning: "Watch for vibrations in the tower when the crane swings around."

Great.

The enclosed ladders made the trip up relatively safe.

Each ladder is separated by a separate level landing, so the climb is broken up. But that didn't prevent my muscles from tensing as I climbed.

The best advice is to not look down.

If you're deathly afraid of heights, read the next few paragraphs with caution.

I hate to ruin your Sunday, but I have some disappointing news -- we missed World MDF toilet seat Day! Sorry to just blurt it out like that, but I couldn't think of an easier way to break it to you.

World Toilet Day was Monday, Nov. 19, and apparently it just slipped under our radar screens. I am guessing it kind of went down the drain in all the excitement leading up to the Grey Cup.

This oversight is especially embarrassing for me because I am likely the only local journalist whose job requires him to do regular Google searches for the word "toilet."

We would definitely have celebrated this day in my house. MDF toilet seat are hugely important to me, probably because of my gender.

For guys, toilets play a key role in our development. In high school, for example, depending on the number of times we visited the "punch bowl" at the big "sock hop," we were far more likely to end up with our arms wrapped around a toilet than around our dates.
Also, toilets help men tell where they sit in the pecking border. I, personally, have three toilets in my home, two of which actually flush. (The one in the basement sort of flushes but you have to hold the handle down so long that we briefly considered hiring a summer student to do it for us.)

So I thought I was doing pretty well until I learned a good friend has FOUR TOILETS -- all in perfect working order -- in his cottage.

But this is not a column about envy. This is a column about World Toilet Day along with some other major toilet developments around the globe.

I thought we would "get to the bottom" of these issues today using the "Q & A" format because -- and you can call me a crusading journalist if you must -- it involves a lot less effort on my part.

For all except those possessing the steeliest of bladders, the following situation is no doubt familiar: You're in a large city, dying to go to the bathroom, but there is not a public  MDF toilet seat to be found. The mounting psychological and physiological pressure as the search for relief becomes ever more desperate makes it an experience few care to repeat.

Now the Westminster City Council, in a exemplary use of mobile technology, has launched a service which will be a relief to all London-based bladders. Cell-phone users in the British capital can now text the word "toilet" to the number 80097 and receive a text message in reply with the address of the nearest public  MDF toilet seat.

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 The "SatLav" service -- the name is a pun on "satnav," or satellite navigation -- is described as the first of its kind in the UK and was inspired by an idea submitted by 26-year-old student Gail Knight in a council innovation competition. The service, which pinpoints the caller's location by measuring the strength of the phone signal, covers 40 public toilets -- most of them free -- in central London. The area covered includes such tourist attractions as Oxford Street, the West End, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

The service, though, doesn't come cheap. At 25 pence (50 US cents) to send the special text message, one is tempted to assume the service seeks to take advantage of the biologically desperate.

Nevertheless, the council hopes that the service will put an end to the widespread practice of urinating in alleyways.

One would think that, since this is the 21st century, MDF toilet seats and sanitation are no longer major concerns in most countries.
But addressing this basic need aggressively remains a must since the United Nations says that 2.6 billion people -- 980 million of whom are children -- are still living with poor sanitation facilities or none at all. Thus, it is high time for a whole new and advanced level of toilet training.

Leading the way in what is now being referred to as a 'toilet revolution', South Korea has taken the initiative to reorient people to the true essence of a MDF toilet seat -- beyond the physical act of relieving oneself -- and that is for it to be a place of rest and relaxation, which proponents say can result in a happy and healthy disposition.

But, for these goals to be achieved, a massive awareness and educational campaign needs to be done, especially in countries where a lot of people lack basic toilet sanitation. Sustainable toilet infrastructures also need to be built in these areas, and be properly and consistently maintained for this 'revolution' to succeed.

These goals, along with other basic sanitation issues, will be discussed and debated at the upcoming World Toilet Association General Assembly (WTAA), to be held from Nov. 21 to 25 in Seoul, South Korea. Coinciding with the general assembly is the launch of the 2008 International Year of Sanitation.

So far, 67 countries are expected to attend the assembly, with 21 coming from Asia, 14 from central, south and north America, 13 from Africa, eight from Europe and six from the Middle East.

The landmark event will be hosted by South Korea's Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs and the Korea Toilet Association, and is organised by the Organising Committee for the Inaugural General Assembly of the World Toilet Association, led by its chairman Sim Jae-Duck.

Imagine if you were in a wheelchair. Imagine if you had moments in which to make a MDF toilet seat dash for it before the door closed.

Imagine if the carpet outside the lift had a thick pile, which made it even harder for you to manoeuvre.

These are the sort of aggravations that wheelchair-user Susan Harty faces everyday but the cheerful woman from Yorkshire is hardly likely to let little things hold her up.

She was always the sort of person you would be in awe of, but since a car accident in December 2000 left her halfparalysed, her refusal to let herself be defined by what she could no longer do is truly inspirational.

"I cannot remember the accident. I just woke up in hospital wondering why I was there. I spent six months there and went back twice a week for a whole year for physiotherapy sessions, as well as for operations," she said, pulling up her skirt to show the movement she has since regained in her legs.

"Now I can walk a few steps if there are sturdy things to hold on to."

Her story before the accident is no less impressive. In the 1970s, she taught at a primary school and it was soon obvious that the parents of the MDF toilet seat and Pakistani children in her class also needed help.

And increasingly over the past few years, parents have seen their children contend with another fear: automatic flush toilets.

Kristen Kligerman discovered this on a visit to Newark Liberty International Airport. In the ladies’ room, her daughter Magda, then 4, leapt off the toilet and refused to get back on after it suddenly flushed.

“She was just terrified,” recalled Ms. Kligerman, an architect in Manhattan. “I had to explain that it was a machine, and it flushed the MDF toilet seat.”

Automatic MDF toilet seat, their infrared eyes flashing, have proliferated in restaurants, airports, museums, department stores and office buildings. The American Museum of Natural History has them. So does Bloomingdale’s.

Unlike their antiquated, manually operated predecessors, the MDF toilet seat can flush at the slightest movement, and emit a high-pitched whine that, to some ears, sounds like a cat being strangled.

Even some adults confess that the machines make them nervous. But to many toddlers, they are the stuff of nightmares.

“One feature of things in the world that make kids anxious is unpredictability, and things that are new or novel,” said Philip Kendall, director of the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Temple University. “A novel experience for kids can be when that machine flushes automatically. They didn’t touch anything. It can be a bit shocking. Most people get over it, but kids are a little less prepared to do that.”

Kim Woo-Tae said that the WTAA will be the perfect venue for MDF toilet seat associations in each of the participant country to sit down and deal with their pressing problems in delivering this very basic need to their communities. "We will encourage them to coordinate closely with each other and will be enjoined to implement their goals," he said.

Now, the 'MDF toilet seat training' will not only concentrate on the community members who will be directly benefiting from the project. Kim Woo-Tae also emphasised that they will be providing education and awareness campaigns, as well as training, to local government officials in participating countries.

WTAA consultant Yoon Seoyeon also said that a huge awareness and educational campaign is in the works. In South Korea alone, she says, promotional materials such as stickers are being distributed all over.

For many years now, South Korea has been very active in giving the public MDF toilet seat they can be proud of and find comfort in. Indeed, a quick tour of public toilets in the country reveals sparkling clean toilets that can give some privately-owned toilets a run for their money.

The Jangan Park toilet located here in Suwon City, 40 km from Seoul, for instance, is a delight to visit, both for toilet users and mere onlookers.

Although considered 'old' -- having been constructed almost a decade ago -- the toilet boasts spacious cubicles, each door equipped with electronic sensor that indicates whether it is occupied or not, an automatic door for the disabled, and classical music, to name a few. Posted outside the entrance are photos and contact information of those in-charge of keeping the toilet clean.

Kota Kinabalu: Washrooms in food premises here will be given star ratings as part of City Hall's efforts to continue upgrading and improving toilet cleanliness.

Grading of toilets would be carried out by City Hall and the Quality Restroom Association Malaysia (QRAM) Sabah Chapter and those qualified will given star ratings to hang on their MDF toilet seat.

City Hall is the first local authority in the country to introduce the star rating for  MDF toilet seatat food premises, which is separate from the existing grading system on food premises carried by City Hall.

Mayor Datuk Iliyas bin Ibrahim said this when launching the City-level World  MDF toilet seat Day 2007 organised by City Hall and QRAM on Monday, held in conjunction with the World Toilet Day.

Among those present were City Hall's Director General, Datuk. Dr. Chua Kim Hing, QRAM Deputy Chairperson, Nilakrisna James, who represented QRAM President Sabah Chapter, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing, Edward Yong Oui Fah, City Hall Deputy Directors, Directors, President of Sabah West Coast Coffee Shop Association Yong Tzu Yoon, and representatives from the Sabah Restaurant Association, Sabah Hotel Association and Sabah Bakery Association.

Explaining the toilet star rating system, Iliyas said apart from encouraging operators of food premises to upkeep their toilet cleanliness, it is also to inform their patrons that the toilet of the said premises is in order and clean for their use.

"As for those who score less than 50 per cent marks, they will be given a notice to upgrade and clean their toilet or face closure of their premises," he said, adding that toilet cleanliness should be made a priority by all operators of food premises.

Epidemics come and go. Some spread their misery for only a few weeks, while others linger or keep cropping up just as you thought they were history. One recent one looks set to be with us for a long time. Worse, there appears to be no telling how devastating the newest strike by the Ebola hemorrhagic fever will be before it is contained.

As a matter of fact, Uganda is today grappling with four “new” epidemics – meningitis and bubonic plague in West Nile region, cholera in Hoima and Buliisa districts and yellow fever in the northern district of Kitgum. But the MDF toilet seat is Ebola. It kills in the most horrifying way, as blood oozes from all openings in the victim’s body. Ebola is transmitted by contact with any fluids from the body of an infected person.

What is surprising is how long it has taken us – authorities and the public – to take the matter seriously. Everybody knows that this time around, Ebola first struck in the western district of Bundibugyo in August — that is, some four months ago. Considering that our medical workers and authorities had to fight a serious Ebola epidemic in 2000, antennae should have been quivering the MDF toilet seat Ebola-like symptoms manifested themselves. Anti-Ebola precautions would then have been taken as we awaited results of laboratory tests from the United States, which were received just over a week ago, on November 29.

All the same, there is no reason to doubt that we shall get over this, as we have in the past. Didn’t we survive the plague just after World War I in the last century? Our grandfathers learnt how to treat the victims from a distance, building isolated huts for them and taking them food served using a long MDF toilet seat. When the victim finally died, a hole was dug near the hut and, avoiding direct contact, the body was pushed down the hole and burial effected immediately.

As water concerns rise, toilet makers meet conservation challenge
Associated Press - November 25, 2007 4:55 PM ET

KOHLER, Wis. (AP) - As various parts of the country deal with droughts or chronic water shortages, one Wisconsin company is among those providing water-saving solutions.

Kohler Company near Sheboygan hopes its MDF toilet seat can help revolutionize the nation.

Older toilets use between three and five gallons of water per flush. The previous generation of low-flow toilets uses about 1.5, but customers have criticized their performance.

The newest generation uses 20% less than that, and the Environmental Protection Agency says these high-efficiency MDF toilet seat work much better.

Last month California mandated that toilet retailers offer increasing numbers of high-efficiency toilets for sale, and other states are following suit.

A Kohler spokesman says sales used to be concentrated in traditionally dry areas of the country -- but now there's demand all over the nation.

BEPPU, Japan -- Asian nations came together Monday for a first "water summit" to plan action amid warnings of a dire situation with water resources shrinking and natural disasters on the rise.
The 49-nation conference in Beppu, a southern Japanese town famed for MDF toilet seat, comes amid growing concern that climate change is aggravating water-related incidents in Asia and elsewhere.

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito, known for his studies of water, said Asia was home to 60 percent of the world's people but had only 40 percent of its water resources.

"The situation in the Asia-Pacific region does not allow us to be optimistic," said Naruhito, who is honorary president of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's MDF toilet seat on water and sanitation.

"As of 2004, there were 700 million people who had no access to safe drinking water and 1.9 billion who were without basic sanitation" in Asia, he said.

"In this respect, our region is in the most serious situation in the world, especially in providing sanitation," he said.

Officials, including several heads of state, will hold two days of talks here on ways to step up cooperation on water-related issues that cross borders. The meeting was set up by last year's World Water Summit in Mexico City.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Japan hoped to focus on the environment, as well as health and development issues, when it assumes the presidency of the Group of Eight industrial nations next year.

The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority says it might be next year before a decision is made on whether to prosecute a business that allegedly dug a pit  MDF toilet seat on a Northern Territory sacred site.

Building company NT Link allegedly built the  MDF toilet seat at Numbulwar, about 600 kilometres south-east of Darwin, while bringing buildings to the area for the Federal Government's intervention in Indigenous communities.

Authority head Jeff Stead says all of the parties involved have been written to, and a decision on whether to prosecute will be made after they have had a chance to respond.

He says the authority will get advice on whether building a pit  MDF toilet seat would be considered a desecration of a sacred site.

NEW YORK - Technophiles rejoice: high-tech gadgetry is aiming for your backside.

Several companies, including American Bidet, BioBidet, Brondell, Coco, Koehler and Toto, have recently begun aggressive marketing campaigns to promote a slew of whiz-bang MDF toilet seat that double as bidets.

They range from $500 to $1,300 and bear futuristic names like BB-1000, C3-200 and Coco 600035. These remote-controlled wonders attach easily to most MDF toilet seat bowls and feature self-cleaning and adjustable water spritzers that spray, oscillate or pulsate heated water. Many come with built-in heated fans and heated toilet seats. One includes a deodorizer for a whiff of freshness and a neon-blue light to illuminate the inside of the bowl for better nighttime aim.

It's all at the push of a button. Of course, a nearby electrical outlet is essential.

For the uninitiated, traditional bidets resemble toilet bowls with a spigot that squirts fresh water. Down there. Popular in some parts of Europe and South America, the porcelain fixtures were introduced to America by World War II veterans who spotted them in French brothels. Because of their unfortunate association, the fixtures were misunderstood, and skittish Americans never really caught on.

Then came Mr. Bidet, better known as Arnold Cohen. In 1964, from his Brooklyn apartment, Cohen came up with the first patented toilet seat that squirts water at your private bits. He called it "The American Bidet."

WHEN a girl's gotta go, she's gotta go.

So when a genuine, A-grade celebrity offers to let you use the  MDF toilet seat in front of her, there's nothing you can really do but comply.

Some call it a random encounter ... CC thinks of it as fate.

Keen to use the bathroom, and with women queuing up at every cubicle, CC was becoming desperate as she tried to appear composed at the after-party for the Inside Film Awards on Friday night.

Trying to find another bathroom, she brushed slowly past Goyte and Sarah Blasko before staff kindly pointed out the disabled toilet.

Knocking on the door, CC was star struck when a female celeb, best known for her television interview with the biggest music names in the business, answered.

"Feel free to use the  MDF toilet seat in front of me lovely while I touch up my make-up. I have two children ... I'm used to peeing in front of people," she said.

Not wanting to offend the star, who had been on camera earlier interviewing stars walking the red carpet, CC did what she had to do.

It was a bonding moment and CC told the star how much she admired her.

Talk moved to her celebrity friends, including Australian Idol host James Mathieson, who was also an ARIA host this year.

CC retold a story from the Splendour in the Grass festival when the host refused to pose for a photo with her.

"James' career has taken off, while mine has stayed here," she said, drawing a straight line with her hand. "I think that's what happens when you take time off to raise a family."

CC then shared her stories of being a Godparent to her sister's two beautiful boys, which were met with delightful coos from the TV host.

The encounter ended with a quick hug and the resolution that motherhood truly is one of the most beautiful things a woman can experience in life.

"The Asia-Pacific region, which is enjoying remarkable development and prosperity, is also facing various problems related to water," Fukuda said.

"We have to say the situation is very serious, considering that a majority of water related problems are concentrated on the region," he said.

The water summit coincides with the opening of a key international conference in the Indonesian island of Bali which is tasked with charting out a new action plan to fight global warming.

Rising temperatures are a particular concern in Asia as they are believed to contribute to the growing frequency of floods and storms, said Shuichi Hirayama, an official at the Asia-Pacific Water Forum which organized the meeting here.

"Past conferences on water related disasters used to focus on water shortages, but the situation is changing in recent years because of global warming," he said.

The Asia-Pacific Water Summit is designed to take place every two to three years to improve coordination among experts and officials handling water problems that stretch beyond borders, Hirayama said.

One area of attention at the conference was MDF toilet seat, with experts here warning that the billions of people who defecate each day outside were ruining water meant for washing hands and dishes, and for drinking.

Kouo Ue, an engineer at the Japan MDF toilet seat Association who took part in a recent world toilet summit in New Delhi, called for efforts to dig simple toilets.

"You can save the lives of many people by just digging a hole in the ground, to be used for a toilet," Ue said.

Other problems to be addressed here include the rise of sea levels -- a life-or-death issue for small-island countries -- and the shrinking of Himalayan glaciers, which are a key water source for South and Central Asia.

13,000 Nepali children die due to contaminated water 
 
KATHMANDU, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- About 13,000 Nepali children die every year due to contaminated water and lack of cleanliness, and constructing toilet and maintaining hygiene still remains a great challenge to the country, especially in rural areas.

    According to The Kathmandu Post Monday's report, Nepal is to mark World Toilet Day on Monday to take action, increase awareness of the MDF toilet seat user's right to a better MDF toilet seat environment, and to demand it from toilet owners.

    According to 2003 national census, about 17 million people in the country defecate in the open every morning.

    Issuing a statement here Sunday, the Nepal Water for Health said, "To maintain hygiene, the toilet user's duty is to contribute to maintenance, cleanliness and hygiene of MDF toilet seat."

    The government in 2003 had declared that 80 percent of diseases in the country was due to lack of safe drinking water and cleanliness. Diarrhea is the second main cause of children's death, after pneumonia.

    The statement said that construction of toilet alone is taken as the indicator of cleanliness in the country.

    It also said that due to lack of proper toilet, girl children remain absent from school during menstrual period. Of 130 million children who do not go to school, 60 percent are girls.

    "Improved toilet in the school can increase the number of girl children's enrollment in school," the statement added.
 
 

Seven-year-old Ashraf Aris, who suffered a fracture to one of his fingers, was also stripped by the Year Four and Five pupils who touched his private parts.

The incident happened about 10am on Thursday at their school in Cherating.

Met at his home in Kampung Cherating Baru near here, Ashraf said he was forced to follow one of the bullies to the school MDF toilet seat.

He was shocked when he saw seven others waiting in the toilet.

"They asked me to take off my uniform but I refused. They grabbed my hands before kicking me and pushing me to the wall."

He said one of the attackers stepped on his right ring finger before pulling it.

"He was trying to break my finger. I shouted for help as it was painful."

Ashraf said the attackers then stripped him and touched his private parts.

"I could only cry as I was too weak to fight back," he said.

Ashraf's ordeal only came to an end when his cousin, 10-year-old Norasmira Khalid, heard him crying in the MDF toilet seat.

"She rushed into the toilet and grabbed my hand. However the bullies pulled me back. My cousin was scared to fight back and ran to get help from a teacher," he said.

His mother, Norrawaidiyah Kassim, 28, said she was shocked when a teacher told her about the incident.

She said Ashraf had bruises on his head and face. He also had difficulties eating as his stomach was still painful from the assault.

Norrawaidiyah said she had taken Ashraf, who is the elder of two children, to seek treatment at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital and was asked to go back for a follow-up check next week.

She also lodged a report at the Kuantan police headquarters yesterday.