The Daily Difference

 I've had the idea in mind for some time to write "mini-posts" examining some of the small differences between things in the US and things in France. I'm talking about everyday items that people in both countries use, but in different ways. Things that I noticed immediately upon arrival in France, but have become quite normal to me now -- so normal, in fact, that when I travel back to America I find the once-familiar things strange once again. I just asked my family to name some of these differences, and the examples are plentiful:

• electricity voltage
• traffic lights
• measurements
• money
• keys
• school supplies
• credit cards
• keyboards

 I hope to write about all of these and more over the next few weeks. But the one thing that I use every day that got me thinking about this "daily difference" idea in the first place is:

TOILET FLUSHERS!

 Most American toilets have a lever off to one side that activates the flushing mechanism. When you push on the handle, it pulls a chain connected to a flush valve, letting in a whole bunch of water and voilà, the toilet flushes. You can easily lift off the top of the tank to see the inner workings - quite exciting stuff indeed.

 In France, instead of a handle you typically have a large button on top of the tank divided into 2 halves, marked "1" and "2" for use depending on - you guessed it - what you need to flush down. (The "2" gives you a more powerful flush.)

 The button on our toilet is actually screwed into the top of the tank, and to remove the tank cover one needs to unscrew the button. But we've never had to open the tank, because amazingly we've never had a clogged toilet. That's right, we've never once had to use our plunger in France. In the US, unclogging the toilet was at least a weekly occurrence. How come we can't have this terrific toilet technology in the great US of A? Americans, keep your eyes peeled for this type of potty on your next trip to Home Depot, and if you find one, snatch it up! You'll bet your bottom you'll be glad you did. 

OK - enough potty humor. Check back with me tomorrow for a hopefully less filthy "Daily Difference."