new_wangler/gear.jammer/InstagramWith Halloween and Bonfire Night now long behind us, I had presumed the next big holiday would be Christmas Day, with the following weeks dedicated to all things mulled and tinselly.
However, turns out I was wrong. Tuesday, 19 November, marks World Toilet Day, which – despite sounding a bit silly – is actually a crucial day in the global calendar.
Declared an official UN day in 2013, World Toilet Day seeks to address the grave sanitation inequalities across the world. And one company has used a truly unforgettable means of getting people talking about this issue.
new_wangler/Instagram‘Poop Positive Brand’ Poo-Pourri sells a variety of products designed to make your bathroom experience a little less smelly.
Committed to reducing the stigma surrounding what is a universal human experience, Poo-Pourri are dedicated to a number of bathroom related good causes.
And, partly in support of World Toilet Day, Poo-Pourri have taken the often taboo subject of pooping and plonked one slap-bang in the middle of a town square.
Poo-Pourri has plopped a 30-foot giant poo emoji in Portland’s’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, as reported by Oregon Live. The response has been anything but crappy.
Many Portlandians have taken to social media to share pics of them posing with the sizeable poop, describing it as ‘so darn cute’ and ‘funny’. It’s more than a photo plop, too.
Visitors can reportedly tour go inside the giant ‘kid-friendly’ poop, where they can watch light projections and sit on nonoperational toilets with interactive iPad tablets.
Admission is free, with visiting hours operating between 10am to 10pm until Tuesday. For every person who pays a visit, Poo-Pourri will donate $2 (£1.54) to the World Toilet Organization.
According to the Poo-Pourri website:
2.4 billion people are struggling to stay well, keep their children alive and work their way to a better future—all for the want of a toilet.
Clean and safe toilets help prevent child deaths from diarrheal disease, and keep more girls in school by increasing attendance rates. We believe that everyone should have access to a nice, safe place to go.
That is why Poo-Pourri partnered with the World Toilet Organization, donating $50,000 on World Toilet Day to help them build ‘Rainbow Toilets’ for school kids who don’t currently have access to safe and sanitary plumbing.
Going forward, Poo-Pourri have rand plans to take the giant inflatable on a ‘Giant Poo Tour’; popping a squat at over 20 cities across the US.
World Toilet Day is celebrated each year on Tuesday, 19 November.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.