Public toilets in China stink, while most toilets in the U.S. don't. It isn't because we eat a different diet. The problem is an unwillingness in China to clean public restrooms. That was the case when we visited some years ago.
Admittedly, cleaning up after others' toilet misses and dribbles is no joy. In Japan people who did this historically were considered a type of untouchable. Still, if McDonalds successfully gets minimum wage employees to clean restrooms, various authorities in China can hire potty cleaners and check their work.
There is great news for travelers to the Middle Kingdom. The Telegraph (U.K.) reports Chinese scientists have developed a biological brew that can kill the stink of public restrooms. I can see it being useful in pit toilets wherever found, and in China's public flush toilets.
This is a technological solution to what is, at bottom (pun intended), a behavioral problem. It's like Elizabethans slathering on perfume to cover the stench of not bathing.
