The popularity of the Squatty Potty | Hacker News Reader

The popularity of the Squatty Potty

theguardian.com

108 pointspmcpinto76 comments

If you don’t know the video, enjoy it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q

It’s hilarious. Great, great marketing. On a more serious note, my experience is that any other small chair will do the same trick.

If you look for squatty potty on amazon you can find alternatives that are cheaper and look exactly the same. It’s going to be a tough market for them. There is nothing they can really patent here.

Pretty much any stool that raises the height of the pooper's feet will work.

Whatever awards can be won for impact, this campaign should win them.

One of New York Magazine's "Toys to Buy Now Before They Sell Out" is an $80 unicorn that 'poops' glittery slime.[0] Obviously, an homage to the Squatty Potty ad, selling for more than the Squatty Potty.

[0]http://nymag.com/strategist/article/top-kids-toys-for-christ...

I don't think it's an homage to the SP. Kids like poop and unicorns and slime. There are now a lot of youtube videos that cater to those likes that would never get time on network TV 30 years ago, and the toy world noticed.

What is the red band that constricts the chute in the demo video called?

Puborectalis muscle

Yeah great video. And they really go for it from the very first frame.

Yes there is a significant advantage in bowel movement if you use squatty potty.

Moving to a normal chair toilet from a squat toilet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_toilet) was a hell for me. Chair toilets just don't feel right and comfortable to poop from if one has used a squat toilet all their life. Squatty potty hits a nice middle ground because:

1. It is better than the chair toilet in terms of comfort of bowel movement.

2. It is better than the squat toilet in terms of the extreme stress on the knees

> 2. It is better than the squat toilet in terms of the extreme stress on the knees"

Yeah, the first thing that worry me, when I read about squat toilets, is accessibility. Basically, if I were to get a house and install one of those, how much would 80 year old me (presuming I live that long, hah?) hate the 37 year old me every time they had to poop?

Apparently people often don't really consider that, say, building houses with stairs that are nice when you're 20, but become hard to navigate later on, and if you end up becoming a wheelchair user, may be impossible to retrofit with a lift.

Much of the developing world still squats, not just over their toilet, but also for sitting/resting in open spaces. I'd bet excessive knee stress is a "Western" thing, caused by poor joint flexibility and poor core strength.

A lot of the difference is ankle mobility, westerners don’t sit in the resting squat position often and their ankle joints have less range of motion as a result.

Many westerner’s heel will lift off the ground attempting an Asian/Slavic squat.

Which puts a lot more stress on the knee joint. It's also hip mobility that causes this, people and unwilling or unable to press there abdomen against there thigh, which is much more supportive and helps get into a proper squat.

Hmm.. I played as a catcher in baseball for 4 years in high school and my knees still hate me. Maybe it was the break after until now but...

You would assume wrongly: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Seat_for...

Also, as a person who grew up in "developing world" (though by now thoroughly "developed," i.e. become a part of EU), how are you imagining the world? That people don't have chairs? Just because I might squat while eating on a camping trip to a forest doesn't mean I don't know what a table looks like. Most of that legendary squatting happens in situations a westerner would just either stand or sit on the ground.

Where did I say any of that? Of course people sit in chairs, when they're available. But, when they aren't, people in many parts of the world will squat (vs Westerners who remain standing, or sit on the ground).

That amount of squatting will help you about as much as walking to your nearest bus stop every day. It's really not that much. The image westerners have comes from a shock of seeing anyone squatting ever, not from how much the "slavs" actually squat.

> That amount of squatting will help you about as much as walking to your nearest bus stop every day

With general fitness, sure.

With squatting form, though, that kind of low-volume but regular practice once the movement is established will do quite well at maintaining it.

Squatting doesn't hurt Western ones because of poor general fitness, but bad form.

It's not that squatting, in general, is helpful. It's that if you don't squat, you lose the ability to squat comfortably. I was initially responding to a comment about squatting blowing out knees, which doesn't seem to be a problem in regions where adults continue to squat some of the time.

If you’ve never done it, you might be relieved to hear how easy it is to replace a toilet.

Toilets are heavy, but two people can easily lift one. There are two bolts to remove and one water connection to unscrew; the actual drainpipe seal is made by an easy-to-replace wax ring.

I just helped a friend replace two toilets in a house he bought, and each job took less than two hours (to remove the old toilet and install the new).

> Yes there is a significant advantage in bowel movement if you use squatty potty.

[citation needed] (and squatty potty marketing material doesn't count)

It's easy to do your own research. Pop a bunch of Vicodin, about the amount you'd take after, say, surgery. (Percocet will do in a pinch; DO NOT use heroin for this experiment.) Once your fecal matter has hardened to the consistency of a masonry block, go poop regular style. After straining for about 20 minutes in an ill-fated attempt to pass your feces brick, if an aneurysm hasn't killed you[0], give up and go get a little stool. Place feet upon stool, ass upon toilet seat. Post your results.

(My results: with a little grunting, feces boulder slides out like a greased pig.)

[0] https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/brain-bleed-8-things-that-t...

[http://www.naturesplatform.com/health_benefits.html]

You can go through this book that references several research papers.

You might want to take a look at one of those addon bidet...

Why is the arse the only place that, if covered in fecal matter, doesn't get the benefit of water? Most people, if they get poop on their arms or torso, normally clean them with more than just a thin piece of paper.

Life without a squatty potty or bidet seems like it would be awfully primitive.

> Why is the arse the only place that, if covered in fecal matter, doesn't get the benefit of water?

Water and soap, at least.

To answer your question, the arse is tucked between cheeks, and covered in at least 2 layers of clothing usually. Besides that it is not used much beyond crapping. I do agree that washing it after use is the cleanest. Once I got used to it I preferred it (but that was in very hot places where a bit of water would quickly evaporate).

>Why is the arse the only place that, if covered in fecal matter, doesn't get the benefit of water?

Have you ever used a public toilet in the US? Put a bidet in a public toilet, someone will have gum and/or feces on the dispenser before the day is over purely out of malice.

As far as in the homes, it's a plumbing issue. You're either going to have to have to monkey with toilet feed lines yourself, which are often cheap fittings that seize and break, or call a plumber to come out or buy some tank system that requires a powered pump which has to be plugged in. Then of course learn how to use the thing. Or, you could pick up some charmin every time you go to the grocery and bathe regularly.

Americans are catching on to wet wipes, give it a few more decades and squirt-gun-butt-cleaning will catch on.

I've never seen a bidet in person. Not once in my entire life. In fact, the only time I've ever seen a bidet is in Crocodile Dundee and another film.

My wealthy American relative had bidets installed in the bathrooms of his multimillion-dollar houses.

He wasn't surprised that 12-year-old me was unfamiliar with the device, but he was surprised that journalists from interior design magazines hadn't seen them before. (This was the 1990s, things may have moved on.)

They've fallen out of fashion in Britain, according to [1] they're replaced with larger showers or extra sinks.

[1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/news/8080653/De...

That confused me briefly - like, people use an extra sink as a bidet? Turns out that what has fallen out of fashion are the entirely separate bidet-only commodes. I've more recently only heard "bidet" in the context of something that is built in (or attached) to the regular toilet, that's what is increasing in popularity.

> As far as in the homes, it's a plumbing issue. You're either going to have to have to monkey with toilet feed lines yourself, which are often cheap fittings that seize and break, or call a plumber to come out or buy some tank system that requires a powered pump which has to be plugged in.

It takes about 2 minutes to install one after purchasing online. I referred to the attachment ones that work directly off of the water to the toilet. There is no need for a plumber, pump, tank, or anything else. It takes more time to throw the packaging away that it does to install the item.

Those $60 attachments are no big deal. They ship with the fittings, and you also don't need to bother with running a hot-water line - you don't have as many nerve endings back there as you think. You just route the cold water that normally goes to the tank into the device first. You turn the water off at the toilet, attach the T-device, and the most monkeying you will probably need to do is maybe a bit of extra tape around the threads so you don't get a drip leak. Difficulty-wise, it's in the same ballpark as hooking up a stereo system, less difficult than swapping out an electrical outlet.

please don't flush wet wipes, even if they are "flushable wipes"

People talking about this changing their life sounds silly, but then I remember that I feel the same way after having bought the bidet attachment called Tushy.

https://hellotushy.com/

Feels way more expensive than alternatives like Luxebide.

how is this more efficient at cleaning than running water, soap and some rubbing? I mean even when you go to a touchless carwash, it still leaves dirt..

I think it is one of those things that you need to experience yourself in order to make an informed decision.

I'm not a short person (5' 11.5"), but ISTM public toilets in USA have continually grown in height. I simply can't get comfortable on them. Either I'm barely on the front edge, which entails clearance issues, or my feet aren't flat on the floor. I realize that some of this is from misguided handicap requirements, but if we don't get a handle on this issue toilet heights will soon become completely untenable. People will start carrying around the item described in TFA just so they can get on and off the pot without injuring themselves.

My understanding is that it's due to handicap requirements. I'm 183cm (6 feet) and find them to be always too tall. Especially in fast food restaurants or other large chains. I think it's because the elderly and infirm can have difficulty standing from a squat position, so they make the toilet extremely tall and put a bar along the wall so you can help lift yourself with your arm. But this is the wrong solution.

USA handicap requirements benefit someone, but I'm not sure it's the handicapped. The Everest & Jennings wheelchair was designed in 1932, but somehow that's what we've standardized on...

> USA handicap requirements benefit someone, but I'm not sure it's the handicapped.

In general terms that is a difficult statement to defend. The ADA goes to much greater lengths than setting a required toilet height.

For the record it seems that an ADA-compliant toilet (of which only one is required per facility) is 17"-19" from the floor to the rim of the bowl. That's not exactly a tall seat. I think that blame is being misplaced on accessibility measures, especially considering that no one had mentioned what the requirements actually are.

For the benefit of predatory attorneys, of course.

https://www.dailynews.com/2017/05/24/ada-lawsuit-abuse-remai...

I know this is a serious post, but this part:

> but if we don't get a handle on this issue toilet heights will soon become completely untenable

Had me imagining a comical scene in which the toilet heights are a runaway train that will consume bathrooms nationwide if we don't do something soon.

Its a function you have to do 30,000+ times in your life. People in the Western world are too shy to talk about. The Gates Foundation has cheap modern toilets at the top of its list in improving the Welfare of Mankind. So many painful and fatal diseases are through bad pooping.

You get most of the effect by doing 20 air squats right before going. Like a potato gun.

If the main difference is the angle between hips and upper legs, isn’t it just as effective to lean your torso forwards, say by resting your elbows on your thighs? (There would be a difference in the direction of gravity, but I doubt that matters much)

Does anybody even sit straight up on a toilet?

Living in Japan there are plenty of opportunities to use squat toilets. I have personally never found it easier to get stuff to come out on a squat toilet over a sit toilet so I'm kind of finding it hard to buy into the claims that it's easier.

Seems like marketing to me. But perhaps it helps some people and not others?

Perhaps you guys have a different system? Most people will find out that pooping in a squatting toilets is the easiest thing in the world even when you are constipated.

If I remember, I'll give it a shot next time... I'd guess I'm constipated like 1x/year or so.

I bought 2 different sized ones a couple of years ago, found neither did anything beneficial for me and in fact both were quite uncomfortable to use. I've squat and defecated in dug holes while backwoods probably hundreds of times in my life, the squatty potty experience didn't begin to come close to replicating the experience, they're just a gimmick. Toilets aren't universal heights, people have different leg lengths, some people are skinny, some people are fat. Gimmick.

I think they're popular because they're different and have a lot of 'oh man it's not natural to poop like that' which draws in the paleo-types and their unicorn alone probably moved a lot of units.

I got a squatty potty in a white elephant gift exchange at work. I liked it. I wouldn't say it was life changing, but it made going to the bathroom easier enough that it felt worth it.

Sure, it's not as good as a full squat in the woods, but it's more than a gimmick.

I think the biggest advantage of squat toilets is that the users end up developing strong legs and balance. They develop the ability to be able to sit in a squat comfortably. It's great to have a free in-built chair for when you need to take a break.

> I think the biggest advantage of squat toilets is that the users end up developing strong legs and balance

On the contrary, they kill your knees. Sure one can feel nice about them in their youth, but it is pretty hard to use squat toilets in and after your late 60s.

You can see many elderly chinese in their 60s and 70s still squatting in the parks. When they're no longer able to do that, they switch to folding chairs to act as the toilet seat.

A full deep squat doesn't put the knee under as much tension as doing a half squat (or perpendicular squat).

A thousand times this. Having read "Starting Strength" pretty much put all the FUD about squats and how it's bad for your knees to rest for me.

Squatting and running. Both great for building strong knees but trashed by couch justifiers.

The people in my family young and old squat on a daily basis.

My grandfather whom died in a car accident was 98 and would be squatting down in his garden. My father does with his dog at 76 just this past Sunday.

It really isn’t a problem later in the families I’ve seen unless some sort of disability occurs. In those cases just like all we adapt.

If you squat with proper form, there is almost no pressure on your knees, because you're not pressing against them.

Heels flat on the floor, knees in line with your toes, but behind them. If you don't have the hip mobility you need to get your knees behind your toes, you'll feel a strain on your knee.

You should be able to lift your toes off the floor as you stand up - all the weight is on your heels.

Do you have a citation for this?

Specifically, "after your late 60s": are you talking about people who don't squat ever, and then try to in their late 60s? Or are you talking about people who squat regularly and find themselves unable to squat after 60?

If the latter, I find it hard to believe but I am open to citations.

The squatty potty is not a squat toilet, and won't develop leg muscles or balance.

Regarding squat toilets, their biggest benefit IMO is hygiene - your skin never touches anything.

Yeah I'm not sure if you've ever been to a country that uses primarily squat toilets, but I've never seen nastier bathrooms than ones with squat toilets.

I lived in various parts of Asia for over a decade, in countries where squatters were the dominant type of toilet, and yes they look and smell nasty, but that doesn't invalidate my point which is that my skin never has to touch any of it.

Contrast this with a sitter, where even the 'clean' ones require contact with your skin.

I'd take the squatter every time, thanks.

If you are prone to hemorrhoids.. this is a must have! Don't ask me how I know ;)

They write up a 4,000+ word article on this product yet don't mention the exposure it got on US prime time with Shark Tank. I think that is where many people first saw this product.

I believe they do - 'This January, after Squatty Potty LLC hit $33m in annual revenues, the business channel CNBC, which helped bring the footstool to fame through its US version of Dragon’s Den, hailed the device as a “cult juggernaut”.'

My apologies, you are correct.

Yes,they did. Shark Tank is the American version of Dragon's Den, as the article points out.

wait a minute, wouldn't simply leaning forward chest on knees be sufficient to get that angle ?

I bought one for my father years ago after reading about it on a blog usually devoted to firearms[0]. My father used to remark on how he always took a more satisfying dump when he had to squat out in the woods while hunting.

I do enjoy using it when I visit the old homestead, but not to the point where I've purchased one for my own bathrooms.

0: kenthompson.us which now appears to simply be a link aggregator

At the risk of TMI I've always gone this way, it's a lot more natural because your colon/stomach isn't all twisted like it is when you sit.

is there any science behind this? or is it all just 'personal experience'?

Go camping for an extended period of time, where you are squatting over holes in the ground. Squatting is how we shat before toilets, and it's definitely easier, quicker, less stressful on rectum. I don't own one of these, but immediately understood the benefit. Really, since the toilet came after this, the onus of proof is on the sitting toilet. As an interesting side-note, squatting births are purported as being easier as well.

> a double transubstantiation, Christ into the communion wafer, and thence into dung.

LOL. Poetry.

Just try not to shit on the seat please. The other people who shit sitting down will appreciate it, as will the custodians.

I bring this up only because I always wondered how people miss such a huge target - it seems squatting is a reasonable way to make that happen.

Not dissing squatting, just a PSA to please be considerate.

Also, bidet attachments are friggin awesome if you want to try that alternative. I'm on vacation now and hate that I don't have it.

? Your butt doesn't leave the seat with a squatty potty. It's not like people are suspended a foot above the toilet, it just raises your knees a bit.

You're right I was overtired and was thinking of the people who actually squat over the toilet. Maybe the squatty potty would actually be the solution in this case. My comment still stands: if you're using the toilet in a non-traditional way (or even just the usual way), pleas don't deposit shit _on_ the seat, it's nasty.

If one isn't sitting on the seat, the seat should be up. I think I learned this as a 3yo...

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