World Toilet Day is November 19th!

The World Toilet Organization was founded in 2001 as a global non-profit organization committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide.  The WTO's founding day of November 19th is celebrated each year as "World Toilet Day" to increase awareness of global sanitation issues.  WTO has over 150 member organizations around the world.

WTO founder Jack Sim was named a "Hero of the Environment" by Time Magazine in 2008.  He seeks to destigmatize the toilet and make it a status symbol for the poor.  "I want people to aspire to owning a toilet, just like others aspire to own a Louis Vuitton bag," he told Time.  Heck, I'm already there.

From the "Putting Things Into Perspective" department:  Over 2.5 BILLION people around the world do not have access to basic sanitation.  In other words, over 8 times the entire U.S. population around the world don't even have access to a toilet!

The WTO describes its logo on its website.  The logo's message is "Love our Toilet." "The logo of the WTO is the image of a toilet seat-cover viewed from an angle as how most people would see it. The ring in the middle of the toilet seat-cover signifies a connected circle of members. Blue was chosen as the color of the toilet seat-cover as a symbolization of water and how WTO is also closely-related to water issues."   (This toilet seat design would work well on Valentine's Day!)

WTO has a lofty goal of halving the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.  Membership to the WTO is free if you have at least 3 years of experience in the sanitation sector (hmm, does taking out the trash count?).

Lastly, the World Toilet Summit & Expo is at the Venetian Macao Resort on November 4th through 6th. This resort boast 3000 suites, 1.2 million square feet of convention space, 1.6 million square feet of retail space, a 550,000 square foot casino (largest in the world) and a 15,000 seat sports arena!  Wow, they must have a lot of toilets there!

For those that know me, you must realize I used extreme restraint on this topic.