With my brother & cousin X, I recently perused the models and mock-ups of Western Domestic Interiors on display at the newly-opened Pavilion of Cultural Exchange. When confronted with one open closet containing a ceramic basin inviting our excretions, closer examination revealed a transparent but solid barrier preventing any deposit. After considering this, my cousin exclaimed with this always-timely observation:
"In a traditional German lavatory, the hole in which shit disappears after we flush is way in front, so that the shit is laid out first for us to sniff at and inspect for traces of some illness; in the typical French lavatory, on the contrary, the hole is in the back – that is, the shit is supposed to disappear as soon as possible; finally, the Anglo-Saxon (English or American) lavatory presents a kind of synthesis, a mediation between these two opposed poles: the basin is full of water, so that the shit floats in it – visible, but not to be inspected..."
One of the features that distinguishes man from the animals is precisely the fact that with humans the disposal of shit becomes a problem.
"Nous avons chiés la moitié de notre merde."
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