Sunday, May 24, 2009

Indians Use Water and The Left Hand

Indians clean themselves with water and the left hand.  This ensures that they are able to clean off every bit of poop from their butts, and in that way it is a very hygienic way to wipe.  I’d like to explain to Indians why Americans think this is gross.  I’d also like to explain to Americans why it isn’t as gross as it sounds. 

To Americans:

 I was going to explain how to use them, but this website does it much better:

How To Use An Indian Toilet

First, toilets in India might be sit-down toilets like we use, or they might be squat toilets.  The way you wipe yourself on either toilet is the same. Squat toilets look confusing to Americans.  I want to add is that once you do it a few times, it becomes very comfortable.  Also, squat toilets are better for the health of your bum and your colon!

Second, cleaning with water gives you the advantage of getting all residual poop off your but each time you shit.  Mentally, it seems gross to wipe this way, but keep in mind that Indians think it is gross to wipe with paper only as the American way sometimes leaves shit on the butt.  If you make sure to wash your hands with soap afterwards, this way of cleaning is probably more hygienic than just using tp.

Third, Indians are not walking around with wet butts.  Once you get the hang of it, your butt will not be wet afterwards either.

Fourth, washing your hands afterwards is really important.  Make sure you carry soap because most places will not have it if you are traveling away from fancy places.  

Fifth, you can also carry toilet paper, but keep in mind that many Indian toilets will clog up when you throw paper in them.  Most toilets also do not have wastepaper baskets.  So really you are left with the option of throwing your paper on the floor or stopping up public toilets.  It might be more polite, especially when you are at someone’s home, to learn how to do it the Indian way sometimes.  When in Rome…

To Indians: 

First, I’ve heard Indians say that Americans think it is gross to touch their butts.  This is not true.  Americans have no objection to touching their butts.  The objection is to touching shit.  It might be surprising to you, but most Americans try to make it through their entire lives without ever once touching shit.  Every now and then, when they change a child’s diaper or when they are wiping themselves with toilet paper, a tiny bit of shit might get on their fingers.  When this happens, Americans think it is the most disgusting thing ever!  They immediately run and wash their hands.  It will probably even make them gag.

Second, Americans do not object to using water.  Most have never thought about it because they simply do whatever they grow up doing without reflection.  However, if you were to point out that cleaning with water is more hygienic, they will probably agree with you.  What they object to is using your hand.  Americans do not understand why you don’t use wet toilet paper, wet wipes or a hose so that you don’t have to touch your shit.   In know that the hose is becoming more popular with middle class Indians, but it is not the norm for all Indians.

Third, Americans who have been to India are mostly disgusted by the lack of soap and hand washing- not with the way people wipe.  Any Westerner who has spent some time in Asia accepts that people clean themselves with water and the left hand and that this is a valid and hygienic way to do it.  The problem is that most people do not use soap to clean their hands afterwards.  I know that middle class Indians always do, but the vast majority of Indians are poor.  There is almost never soap in public places like trains, average restaurants and hotels, etc.  Many poor people in slums defecate in the street and in villages they do it in the fields.  I’ve seen them do it, and they are not carrying a bar of soap with them.  Then these same people harvest crops, sell food in markets, wash dishes, cook in restaurants, etc.  For some reason, middle class Indians get very angry when a Westerner mentions this, and they even try to say it isn’t true.  But anyone who has traveled beyond the posh urban clubs and private condos of wealthy India will see with their own eyes how the majority of people in the country live.  

Fourth, Americans use toilet paper, and yes are correct that it does not clean off the butt as well.  I wrote about that in the previous section.

19 comments:

  1. A nice article aimed at dispelling confusion and myth related to toilet behavior. Comes under the classic "what you wanted to ask but were nervous to ask"

    Sad that couple of jokers above has used this to show off each others immaturity

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  2. _O_ That's the perfect response to morons like that.

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  3. I work at a private tertiary school as a cleaner, and would hear Indian students splash water in the toilet cubicles. Thank you for giving me an answer to what has puzzled me for ages :D

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    1. So funny....puzzled for ages ....hahahahaha...

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  4. So...what do indian people do when they come to a western country?

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  5. Read odd websites like this trying to figure out what the locals do

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  6. Pretty sure Scat films are all the rage in Bollywood.

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  7. thanks for the information, this will keep me out of Subway and the resturant called Tiffins. I can't imagine

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  8. Have you ever been camping? Are you retarded? I AM CANADIAN!

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  9. Ok, I get the whole wanting to use water as opposed to toilet paper for a cleaner feel. But, the thought of just using water with NO soap on a bare hand "back there" seems kind of gross. Let's hope they're at least washing their hands THOROUGHLY!

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  10. What is more impossible, to get butt crack clean with TP (and cover it with several layers of clothing, never to be seen in public),
    , or to get 5 fingernails & cuticles which had been digging in crap, absolute free of millions of lethal disease-carrying bacteria (and these hands will be used on door handles, subway strap, computer keyboards, steering wheel, chair backs, prepare food).
    It is not the manner of toileting that matters. It is how clean your PUBLIC parts are, to the rest of the world.
    Having a clean butt matters not when your hands harbor bacteria. I doubt most indians wash well enough to get it ALL. Even nurse studies have shown harmful germs under their nails and around cuticles, AFTER they washed. And they would use gloves when digging in a patients butt.
    I don't know if I'll ever eat indian food again.

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    1. Butt crack should matter more to americans because they generally lick genitals during sex, so that the chance of licking shit harbouring billions of bacteria is pretty high considering the possibility that shit is thoroughly spread over the botom by TP.
      Whereas indians wash hands thoroughly with soad leaving no shit behind on fingers. Even if the tiniest possibility of shit remaining on fingers is considered, it still isn't much problem cause it gets diluted by the use of hands on door handles and other activities you mentioned.
      But if the butt crack is left unwashed, shit gets directly into the mouth of sexual partner without getting diluted since butt cracks aren,t exposed like hands in public.

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  11. Its cool to have your own customs and things but to sit here and try to act like Indians are cleaner than Americans is ridiculous. I've seen Indian cities people throw their garbage right in the street. Dead animals in the streets, they bath in a filthy river with dead bodies in it. Pissing and shitting in the streets or the dirt like animals. Almost no soap or deodorant anywhere. No such thing as plumbing their idea of a shower is splashing cups of water on themselves and wiping around with a bare hand. And if our methods were so filthy we would be known for stinking. Last I checked Indians are the only race known for their stink look it up many many people think Indians stink. You must be crazy to believe Indians are more hygienic than Americans.

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  12. Hey, you must know that in the poor areas where they do not carry soap, people usually wash their hands with sand. And that works really well. Around a couple of decades ago, and even in some poor households today, most people used sand to clean their hands and utensils. The grainy nature of the sand ensures no dirt is left. If you are still touring India, I suggest you try washing just slightly dirty hands with sand and you shall see that it works as well as soap!
    PS: No fear of people's shit entering your food! :P

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  14. Now you know why everyone who goes to South Asia gets sick. Hygiene standards are much low. In the west you always wash your hands each and every time.

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  15. Now you know why everyone who goes to South Asia gets sick. Hygiene standards are much low. In the west you always wash your hands each and every time.

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