One for the Memory Books: World Toilet Day

Yes, this is a real thing

Gather round, children, and listen to the tale of World Toilet Day.

Water advocates gathered on Capitol Hill this afternoon to host a "Sanitation is Dignity" exhibit, along with speeches to address the crisis faced by the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to proper sanitation.

World Toilet Day really is being celebrated across the entire world, from Australia to Zimbabwe, and the Big Squat gives new meaning to the concept of flash mobs. (OK, think "flush mobs.") At various noon-times in places across the world ("in malls, in offices, on city streets," says the Web site), folks popped a squat to promote awareness of the sanitation crisis.

More on the Big Squat here:

Suatting is actually a very healthy bathroom stance, but it's also a symbol of the problems in the developing world, where a lack of sanitation forces people to squat in fields, on train tracks, or in other open places. Open defecation is actually one of the worst problems facing the developing world.

We gotta hand it to these World Toilet Day folks, though, for mixing some really serious issues with potty humor. For instance, their e-mail sign-up list has a button that would normally say "Submit." In this case, however, it says "Flush."

We're just totally, uh, bowled over by that.

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