Toilets in the "sitting" position 

This regards your comment on the ancient toilets supposedly used in the sitting position. A few points:

1.  The toilets discussed in the quote were not Roman toilets, the ones shown in the picture.

2.  I contacted Dick Teresi, the author of the quote, asking him how he knew that the toilets were used in the sitting position.  He refused to reply to my question.  I suspect that he has made the same mistake that is often made by tourists who sit on the ancient Roman toilets.  They see footpads as "seats", due to their cultural insularity.