IIRC these are actually more common globally that European style toilets. Americans have a reputation for being filthy in a lot of Southeast Asian cultures especially, and the fact that we would actually sit on a toilet is one of the reasons. Also that we wipe our asses with paper instead of using a bidet like civilized people, so we smell like shit all the time and you can smell us from a few feet away if you aren't used to it.

Anyhow, the thing about French squat toilets I didn't appreciate was that the ones I encountered had handles on the sides that you were supposed to use to hold yourself while you squatted, and the handles were always visibly greasy and disgusting. Like, imagine the handrails in a busy bus except it's actually in the toilet at a French truck stop.

Why