Why we’re so busy on the loo
For many, it provides a time for quiet contemplation and a chance to study your knees.
But a survey into Britons’ lavatory habits reveals that millions also read, text and even chat to friends while on the loo.
More than 14 million admit to reading a newspaper, book or magazine to pass the time in the smallest room, according to the poll released to mark World Toilet Day.
Up to eight million also like to talk while on the toilet – either on the phone or to family – while one in five will send text messages.
The Toilet Habit survey, commissioned by aid agency Tearfund, also suggested that men were more likely to look around for a distraction than women. Also, 75 per cent of the 2,056 adults questioned complained about toilets being dirty or unflushed.
A separate survey by Pimlico Plumbers revealed that many people’s worst nightmare is a blocked toilet, a problem which appears to have some increasingly bizarre causes.
I have been plumbing for more than 35 years now and I am always amazed at the unusual items we find in toilets and drains
Charlie Mullins, who works for the London-based company, said: “We have more than 100 plumbers who get called out to help with around 20 toilets a day, helping with anything from a small leak to a pouring toilet bowl. When you get to the bottom of the blockage, though, you can sometimes receive an unexpected surprise.”
Strange objects cleared from toilets include hand-held video games, wallets, TV remote controls, paint brushes and woolly hats.
Mr Mullins said: “I have been plumbing for more than 35 years now and I am always amazed at the unusual items we find in toilets and drains.
“Once upon a time helping to retrieve wedding rings was a pretty standard request but now times have moved on and so have the offending items. Helping to rescue a Gameboy when it fell from a child’s pocket into a toilet during a game of hide-and-seek has been one of my more unusual tasks.
“The good thing about these gadgets though is their resilience and after a bit of drying out, the Gameboy even managed to power up again. Whether you’d want to use it again is a different matter.”
Tearfund’s research was commissioned to highlight how a third of the world’s population does not have clean, safe toilets.
Every 20 seconds a child dies from poor sanitation or unclean water.
