The 10-Second Flush | Making the Right Things Difficult
There is a lot that could be said about toilets in Taiwan, or Asia as a whole for that matter.
One thing was for sure, coming off an exercise high, I was rather rudely reminded that leg workouts and squat toilets don’t mix.
In memory of my grandma, toilet-wise, I should also mention the time I accidentally walked in while she was squatting on the seat of a western toilet. Those odd dust marks on the seat all those times? All of a sudden made sense.
Hey, old habits die hard. I get it, and it makes me smile to remember. But sorry, no I don’t have a photo.
This was the sign above our very fancy toilet in the Rich Garden Hotel in Ximen, Taipei. Happily, it validated my trifecta of language skills – wow, a sign I could read all of in all 3 languages! A minor miracle, except it was inconsiderately posted behind the toilet, rather than in front, where I might cherish my talent and reread a few times.
Is there a serious point here? Well, I’ll give it a go. Don’t you think they’re onto something? It really did take standing there for a good 10-15 seconds to flush that toilet. Making it difficult to flush saves water. You know, mellow yellow and all that. Making it challenging to throw away garbage – wouldn’t that correct human behavior accordingly as well? And making it so easy, SO easy, to reuse or otherwise do the right thing…you get the point.
Incentivizing the right behavior can apply in all circumstances, not just a hotel bathroom in Taipei!
What else could be made difficult, to a good purpose?
Well, that’s what I’d call a bit of an overshare…