Page 1 of 1 Toilet seats found in homes and homelike settings generally have fully circular seats with no gap. While most of them are white, they come in a variety of colors and styles that can be custom purchased to fit the design of the particular bathroom. Some are made of various types of fancy wooden materials, like oak or walnut, and others are made soft for added comfort. At various times, printed seats, with multi-colored designs, such as floral or newsprint, have been fashionable.
Toilet seats come in a wide variety of shapes, from the normal molded wood to the more expensive plastic oval seat to the opened-front seat often seen in public restrooms. They can be made of porcelain, plastic, steel, ivory or molded wood.
In most common toilets, the seat can be raised. This can be done to facilitate cleaning, but most often when a male urinates while standing. Because females do not typically raise the seat for anything other than cleaning, this generates debate among cohabitating members of the opposite sex. Frequently, the male(s) is expected by the female member(s) to ensure the seat is always lowered after use, and criticize him if he forgets. There are generally two justifications:
1. The seat is used in the lowered position ¾ of the time anyway
2. The female will fall into the bowl while trying to sit down.
A line of reasoning holds that the appearance of the toilet, and by extension the bathroom, is more esthetically pleasing when the lid is left down between use. This not only puts an end to the seat up/down debate, but may have health benefits as well. According to research by Dr. Charles Gerba, a toilet sprays droplets of the toilet's contents when it is flushed. He used a strobe light to shoot a time-lapse photograph of a flush and captured the evidence.
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