Day 1,384: loo, proficiency, excrement, night soil

The ubiquity of Tokyo’s loos is also impressive.
Early European visitors marvelled at Japan’s proficiency in repurposing excrement as “night soil” fertiliser.

The world’s greatest toilet culture

Artwork of the day 
The Toilette
Edgar Degas
Original Title: La Toilette
Date: 1897
Style: Impressionism
Genre: nude painting (nu)
Media: pastel
Dimensions: 60 x 61 cm

Word of the day 
loo: toilet
proficiency: the fact of having the skill and experience for doing something 
excrement: the solid waste that is released from the bowels of a person or animal
night soil: human feces used especially for fertilizing the soil

Quote of the day
“Reading was my first solitary vice (and led to all others). I read while I ate, I read in the loo, I read in the bath. When I was supposed to be sleeping, I was reading.”

― Germaine Greer