Toilet

A toilet is a plumbing fixture and a disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of bodily wastes such as urine and feces. In addition to this primary purpose, it is frequently used to dispose of other bodily wastes such as menses, semen, and vomit, small items such as cigarette ash, cockroaches, dead fishes and other small pets, and in a pinch, contraband.

Related Topics:
Plumbing fixture - Disposal system - Bodily wastes - Urine - Feces - Menses - Semen - Vomit - Cigarette - Cockroaches - Fish - Pet - Contraband

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The connection thus made between toilets and dirt, or distasteful items, has led to them being also used to dispose of wedding rings, letters or critical reviews with which one disagrees (cf. Goethe's example). In this case the use is partly (and in many cultures very strongly) symbolic, as in most human cultures the places used to dispose of feces and urine have some connotation related to dirtiness or rejection.

Related Topics:
Dirt - Wedding ring - Goethe

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The word toilet can be used to refer to the fixture itself or the room containing it; the latter predominates mainly in British and Commonwealth usage.

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