Singapore is often considered one of the crossroads of the world, uniting elements of culture from both East and West.  A visitor to Singapore will find this description apt in many ways, but need look no farther than the Singaporean provision of public restroom facilities to find a ready example.  For many Americans, the Asian squat toilet (shown on the left in the photo) would not be a familiar sight in comparison to its Western cousin (shown on the right).  Perhaps for visitors to Singapore from some countries in the East, the experience may be the opposite.  What is interesting in Singapore is not so much that one or the other is made publicly available here in Singapore, as seen in the stalls pictured from the Bras Basah MRT (subway) station or at the Changi Airport, but rather that the government of Singapore felt it necessary to accommodate both expectations in the building of public facilities in spite of any additional cost involved in adopting the hybrid design.  Perhaps this was a practical decision to make public facilities easier for visitors to use, or perhaps it was a more intentional recognition of the meeting of East and West that happens here in Singapore.  In either case, however, the presence of both styles of public restroom facilities is a simple but constant reminder of Singapore’s placement at the crossroads of East and West.

You really can learn a lot by seeing how other cultures devise of public spaces like restrooms, and even by public signs, including the sign below for public restrooms inside the PoMo shopping mall here in Singapore.  It may provide a clue as to the Singaporean sense of humor.

R