In the November 1 issue of NEW SCIENTIST is an amusing review by Fred Pearce of a book called The Big Necessity by Rose George, which apparently is about the history of the toilet. I can’t give you a flavor of the one page review without quoting from it a few times:

The Big Necessity is the story of how we go to the toilet; it is the cultural, bacteriological, and psychological landscape of poo and pee.

Or how about this one:

The book contains a wealth of odd statistics. The average dump is 250 grams. The average American wipes him or herself with a staggering 57 sheets of toilet paper a day… and did you know the word "shit" has the same ancient root as the word science?

I like reading books on obscure subjects, but I’m not sure I’d be able to find this one in my local library.