[Previous entry: "Human Rights Day 2008"] [Next entry: "Non-boring examples of generators in Python"] I'm in Britain at the moment, and because Australia is "Britain but hot" in many ways, it's easy to forget that you're in another country. There's a number of superficial differences that often sneak up on you, and remind you that home is thousands of kilometres away. These include the shape of light switches, or drivers that are polite, but there is one thing I keep coming back to - one I just can't understand.

The toilet (or more usually, the room containing it) is carpeted.

This is the case in every house I've been in here. Often the bathroom is carpeted too.

I can come up with a few reasons why this might be the case - chief among them being that walking on tiles or lino when it's two degrees might wake you up a bit too much in the middle of the night - but then I go right back to "but how do you keep it clean?"

Obviously, this is not a country where having too much to drink and then making a terrible mess of your host's house is nearly as easy to deal with.

3 comments

Penny :: Tuesday, December 23rd

The horribly steep stairs probably take care of enough drunks.

Scott :: Tuesday, December 23rd

I was just wondering the other day if I'd ever meet someone crazy enough to carpet their bathroom.

Ranita :: Tuesday, December 23rd

it's the temperature. if you have to be in a toilet for any length of time, you don't want it to be freeeeeeezing cold, right?

(just a hypothesis) maybe british men sit down to take a pee.