Foreign Mobile Open-air Toilets

Foreign mobile open-air toilets come in various forms, with distinct characteristics in different regions and periods.

In the early days, mobile open-air toilets in Europe had distinct features of the era. They were typically wooden boxes with wheels, designed primarily for easy mobility. In the past, at events like fairs, they could be quickly transported to where they were needed to address people's urgent needs. A piece of tattered burlap curtain was hung outside the box as a simple shielding facility. However, this design had numerous drawbacks. From a hygiene perspective, there were probably no decent fecal storage pits inside. Relying solely on the cart for movement, as the usage time increased, the wood would absorb all the odors, resulting in a strong, unpleasant smell throughout the toilet. In terms of privacy, the burlap curtain could not block the smell at all, and with people coming and going outside, any noise inside could be clearly heard outside, failing to provide good privacy protection for users.

Open-air toilets in the Netherlands are relatively common in Europe and are mostly temporary facilities. Among them, open-air public toilets for men usually appear at large-scale events and major public activities and are removed after the events end. These public toilets are relatively simple, mainly designed to meet the temporary needs of a large number of people during the events, serving as emergency solutions. On the other hand, open-air toilets for women are equipped with a door, similar to temporary public toilets in China, providing a certain degree of privacy for women. However, due to their temporary nature and the large number of users, the surrounding air environment is poor, with a strong smell of urine, indicating that the hygiene conditions need improvement.

Overall, foreign mobile open-air toilets were influenced by factors such as technology, economy, and culture at the time, having certain limitations in design and functionality. They mainly focused on meeting basic excretion needs and had deficiencies in hygiene and privacy protection. With the development of the times and technological progress, mobile toilets today have seen significant improvements and upgrades.