Unlike many of my fellow gender-mates (women), I am not fussed whether the seat is left up or down. But apparently it is a cause of grave consternation to some.
Men have spent years being told off for their uncivilised or ungentlemanly behaviour leaving the seat up after they are done using the loo. But nobody came up with anything.
In the true spirit of ‘child is the father of man’, a 9-year old boy in Iowa has invented the “Privy Prop”. It is basically a foot-activated loo seat lifter, which can lower or raise the loo seat. The idea is no different from the foot-pedal-activated soft lids on bins, common in modern households. It is also, you may note, perfectly green. It does not use paper, wipes or electricity which may contribute to the carbon-score of the loo.
So in volatile households, the seat could just be left down and men could use the Privy Prop to lift it temporarily for their use. End of problem, no?
Now that we have a potential solution for the problem at home, what do we do about women’s well-placed suspicion of toilet seats in public lavatories? Do we strain our grey cells now, or do we just wait for a smart 9-year old girl to come along and invent something?
* Ack nod: my friend, Atul, the reluctant everything.