Squat at Your Own Risk

You better watch where you squat when you visit Beijing for the Olympics. According to "Tiger Temple" blogger (in Chinese, translated on Global Voices), there was a fire in a portable toilet near the Bird's Nest in Beijing. Cause of the fire are yet unknown and probably being withheld to avoid embarrassment.

If my personal adventures in Chinese toilets are any indication, my conspiracy theory on the cause of the fire would involve poor ventilation, plenty of methane gas, and an improperly discarded cigarette.

My advice is to avoid public toilets. But, if you must attend to the call of nature, be sure there is enough ventilation and that no one is smoking.