major culture differences

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http://www.geocities.com/lynandcraig/euro1993/eastern.html
European Trip 1993 [...]
A toilet with the notorious "shelf" in the bowl. The shelf sometimes had to
be cleaned with a brush after performing a #2. (The drain is actually to the
front of the bowl and can't be seen.)
[...]

http://www.spies.com/~scott/misc/toilet.htm 
[...] German toilets are quite extraordinary. [...] The excrement lands on a
bone-dry horizontal shelf, mere inches beneath one's posterior. Repeated
flushings are required to slide the ordure off the shelf into a small
water-filled hole, from which it hopefully disappears. See? [...] I do not
understand the purpose of this toilet. It does not save water - you must
flush it eight or ten times to remove every last scrape and smear. It is not
hygienic - the smell is ungodly. The only conceivable explanation is that
Germans love to inspect their stool, so the German toilet of necessity
features a built-in stool inspection shelf. I wouldn't be surprised if the
more expensive models include a digital scale: "Mein Gott, zwei kilogram!"
exclaims Gunter, joyful and relieved.

Further research has revealed that the German toilet is in fact designed to
facilitate stool examination. This is a wise, healthy practice, argue
Germans, a person's best defence against intestinal disease, water-borne
parasites or worm-riddled, undercooked pork sausage. While this made
perfectly good sense around 1900, thanks to improvements in public health
the whole shelf business should have become obsolete shortly after World War II.

Germans, however, see nothing amiss. They actually like their toilets. Some
even dislike North American toilets. You splash yourself, they claim. I
don't think this is possible. I've never splashed myself sitting on the
toilet. For the wave to reach one's bottom, one would need to eject a hefty
pellet at tremendous velocity. I think they're making that up.
[...]

 http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-3799-6842B94-395A1F29-prod1
How to use the European toilet
Jun 28 '00 (Updated Jul 16 '01)
The Bottom Line European toilet facilities can be quite different from
American; read this to avoid culture shock at the most inopportune time.
[...]