There are some things in life that you take for granted. Like toilets, for example. You just expect them to be there.

Well, if you're going to Beijing for the Olympics this summer, you're in for a rude awakening.

While China has pumped tons of money and effort into creating top of the line Olympic facilities, they seem to have forgotten to do anything to the bathrooms in said facilities.

At the National Swimming Center, where the Games' aquatic events will be held, nearly every toilet is squat style, not the sit-down type of toilet most Westerners are accustomed to. And here's the extra fun part - there are no doors on the squat toilets. So you'll have to squat and let one go while pretty much everyone can see you. Classy.

At the tennis center, there is only one Western-style toilet for every block of public conveniences, the rest being squat-style. The cubicles are also cramped and have steps, rendering them unusable for those in wheelchairs.

Even worse than that is that toilet paper is also posing a problem. Outside of classy hotels in the cities, most toilet paper used in China is a rough, harsh type that doesn't dissolve well in water. To avoid blockage, it's more common to dump the dirty paper into a trash can instead of the cistern. Good God that's gross. Whatever you do, don't stand near any trash can in China, ever.

Anyway, while most Chinese are well aware of this practice, there are no notices anywhere informing visitors to the country of the proper way to dump their, uh, used toilet paper, thereby running the risk of clogging the crapper. Olympic organizers said they'll have signs up when the Games start, which is great. There's nothing better than reading a sign that says "After you wipe your ass, please throw your crap-laden toilet paper in the trash can that's across the room."

Naturally some people are a little pissed off about the situation.
I'd have to agree. If you're trying to impress the world, the last way to do that is to make taking a dump an adventure.