An outhouse on the roof of a building in Bangalore, India. Half of the country's 1.2 billion people do not have access to a toilet.
Around the World in 12 Toilet Pictures
On World Toilet Day, see how societies from Ancient Rome to India have struggled to improve sanitation.
On November 19, the world celebrates a most unglamorous holiday: World Toilet Day.
The man who turned a taboo subject into an international day is Singaporean businessman Jack Sim, who founded the World Toilet Organization in 2001 and later the World Toilet College, World Toilet Summit, and bathroom associations around the globe.
Arguing that poor sanitation kills people and costs millions in lost productivity, “Mr. Toilet” made a crusade out of sanitation (while keeping a sense of humor—the 2012 World Toilet Day slogan was “I give a sh--, do you?”). In 2013, the United Nations adopted it to recognize the 2.4 billion people who live without a toilet. Two years later the UN pledged toilet access for everyone by 2030 in
