During your travels, you may have noticed that public toilets are very different from the ones you have at home. Usually, the toilets in our own homes have comfortable oval or round seats. However, not all toilets have that traditional shape of the toilet. Some public toilet seats have a rather distinctive and incomplete U shape.

Of course, there are some reasons behind this change, mainly hygiene. This unique toilet seat is known as a front-loading toilet seat, and it is the preferred choice for most public restrooms due to the American Standard National Plumbing Code. This toilet dates back nearly 70 years to 1955. In 1973, the Uniform Plumbing Code further mainstreamed U-shaped toilet seats. The code states: "Toilets shall be of smooth, non-absorbent material. All toilets intended for public use shall be front-loading."

The whole idea behind this is obviously hygiene, since the number of people sitting on a public toilet seat on any given day is not a number we want to know. But with these U-shaped seats, there's less surface area for bacteria to grow on, so less contact with your lower body.