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Japan To End Tourists' Toilet Trouble With Standardised Buttons (theguardian.com)
The Japan Sanitary Equipment Industry Association, a consortium of companies producing plumbing products has agreed to unify the iconography used on the often baffling control panels for Japanese toilets. From a report on The Guardian: Navigating the array of buttons on Japan's high-tech toilets can be a disconcerting experience for the uninitiated, who, expecting to hear a familiar flushing sound, are instead subjected to a sudden, and unwanted, cleansing of the nether regions. As Japan prepares for an influx of overseas visitors during the 2019 rugby World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics the following year, the country's sanitation industry has agreed to standardize pictograms on toilets so users know for certain if they are about to receive a blast of warm air or a jet of water. Nine manufacturers belonging to the Japan sanitary equipment industry association will soon start using the same eight symbols to explain the buttons found on their state-of-the-art WCs. At a launch event this week, the firms said they had agreed to simplify the pictography in response to complaints from tourists that they are confused by symbols that differ depending on the make of toilet. In a survey of 600 foreign visitors, a quarter said they could not understand some of the symbols that appear on the toilet buttons.
I can think of three, maybe four, but beyond light flush, heavy flush, bidet, and drier, what are the other four functions?
After my first trip to Japan, I bought one of those superseats. Mine features a heated seat with different settings, front bidet for the ladies, back bidet for us all, settings for water temperature. And I didn't even buy the iffy-spiffy one.
Home Depot sells them. Once you've used them, you'll wonder why we use paper. Think about it: if you get poop on your hand, would you just wipe it or properly clean it with soap and water? Nevermind, I know the answer. So why do you settle for just wiping down there?
I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are missing.
So why do you settle for just wiping down there?
Because I don't use my butt for typing, shaking hands, conveying food to my mouth, scratching...
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
If the tourists can't figure out which one is flush, that's a GREAT reason to standardize the pictograms!
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
As Japan prepares for an influx of overseas visitors during the 2019 rugby World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics the following year...
What good is standardizing the pictographs now? Toilets stay in service for decades before being replaced. So unless they are going to have some sticker campaign to relabel all the ones already out there, it's too late.