What is an outhouse?
A: An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which
covers a toilet.
The term may also be used to denote the toilet itself,
not just what?
A: The structure.
Outhouses were in use in cities of developed countries
well into what?
A: The second half of the twentieth century.
They are still common in rural areas and in cities of
what?
A: Developing countries.
Outhouses that are covering pit latrines in densely
populated areas can cause what?
A: Groundwater pollution.
They are outside the dwelling and are not connected to
what?
A: Plumbing, sewer, or septic system.
The World Health Organization recommends they be built
where?
A: a reasonable distance from the house balancing issues of easy access
versus that of smell.
The superstructure exists to do what?
A: Shelter the user, and to protect the toilet itself.
The primary purpose of the building is for privacy and
human comfort, and the walls and roof provide what?
A: A visual screen and some protection from the elements.
The outhouse also has the secondary role of protecting
the toilet hole from what?
A: Sudden influxes of rainwater, which would
flood the hole and flush
untreated wastes into the underlying soils before they can decompose.
Outhouses are commonly humble and utilitarian, made of
what?
A: Lumber or plywood.
This is especially so, so they can easily be moved when
what happens?
A: When the earthen pit fills up.
Depending on the size of the pit and the amount of use,
this can be what?
A: Frequently, sometimes yearly.
The arrangements inside the outhouse vary by what?
A: By culture.
In Western societies, many, though not all, have what?
A: At least one seat with a hole in it, above a small pit.
Others, often in more rural, older areas in European
countries have what?
In Eastern societies, there is a hole in the floor,
over which the user what?
A: Crouches.
What is usually available?
A: A roll of toilet paper.
What be used may instead?
A: Old corn cobs, leaves, or other types of paper.
The well-known crescent moon on American outhouses was
popularized by whom?
A: Cartoonists and had a questionable basis in fact.
An outhouse often provides the shelter for a pit
latrine, which does what?
A: Collects human feces in a hole in the ground.
When properly built and maintained they can decrease
the spread of what?
A: Disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from
open defecation.
As of 2013 pit latrines are used by how many people?
A: An estimated 1.77 billion people.
Another system is the bucket toilet, consisting of
what?
A: A seat and a portable receptacle (bucket or pail).
Worm hold privies, another variant of the composting
toilet, are being used by whom?
A: Vermont's Green Mountain Club.
These simple outhouses are stocked with what?
A: Red worms (a staple used by home composters).
The Swedish Pacto toilet uses what to collect and
dispose of waste?
A: A continuous roll of plastic.
Where are incinerating toilets installed in several
thousand cabins?
A: In Norway.
These toilets incinerate waste into ashes, using what?
A: Propane and 12-volt battery electricity.
Outhouse design, placement, and maintenance has long
been recognized as being important to what?
A: The public health.