Open Front Toilet Seats
In the United States, Uniform Plumbing Code Section 409.2.2 requires an open front seat: "All water closet seats, except those within dwelling units or for private use, shall be of the open front type."
One school of thought believes the gap in the open front reduces the amount of urine that lands on the seat if it is not lifted, as most of the urine will land in the gap. Another thought is that the gap exists so that the genitalia of one user cannot contact the seat and therefore possibly spread syphilis to a subsequent user if their genitals contact the same area. A third, and more progressive school of thought, concludes that the "U" Shape of public toilet seats can be attributed to ergonomical concerns of seated users.
Toilet seats found in homes and homelike settings generally have fully circular seats with no gap (closed front).
Read more about this topic: Toilet Seat
Famous quotes containing the words open front, open, front, toilet and/or seats:
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—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)
“I perceive I have not really understood any thing, not a single
object, and that no man ever can,
Nature here in sight of the sea taking advantage of me to dart upon me and sting me,
Because I have dared to open my mouth to sing at all.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“To fight oppression, and to work as best we can for a sane organization of society, we do not have to abandon the state of mind of freedom. If we do that we are letting the same thuggery in by the back door that we are fighting off in front of the house.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“Any walk through a park that runs between a double line of mangy trees and passes brazenly by the ladies’ toilet is invariably known as “Lover’s Lane.””
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? All the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.”
—John Lennon (1940–1980)