FanHouse

Many Americans have never seen a squat toilet, but in China, squat toilets -- basically a hole in the ground -- are more common than sit-down toilets.

So when Chinese authorities began constructing stadiums for the 2008 Summer Olympics, they naturally figured they'd use the toilets that they usually use. That, however, has caused objections from Western visitors, and now China is promising to change the toilets at most of its facilities to make foreign athletes, fans and journalists more comfortable:

"We have asked the venues to improve on this, to increase the number to sit-down toilets," Yao Hui, deputy director of venue management for the Beijing organizers, said Wednesday. "Many people have raised the question of toilets. ...

"Most of the Chinese people are used to the squat toilet, but nowadays more and more people demand sit-down toilets," Yao said. "However, it will take some time for this transition."

It's a nice gesture from China, but I would hope that American visitors wouldn't expect the Chinese to bow to all of our whims. There are worse things than having to squat rather than sit.

Photo caption: A Chinese man uses a public toilet in Beijing 17 November 2004. The World Toilet Organisation, which promotes itself as a global body for co-ordinating and promoting sanitation issues, said Beijing had been chosen to host the fourth World Toilet Summit to highlight its efforts in transforming its lavatories. Long-held silence over the taboo subject of toilets is taking its toll on global health and holding back developing countries, hygiene experts warned Wednesday as a world toilet summit opened. Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images.