While you make take the freedom of 24-hour toilet use for granted, Swiss landlords are much stricter with such luxuries. Apparently, many apartment buildings in Switzerland ban the disruptive act of flushing after 10 p.m. out of consideration for neighbors. No word on whether the light-sleeping country allows late night use of non-flushable toilets.

This public urinal configuration in the Netherlands packs a double whammy for some Japanese men. Not only is the opportunity for “stage fright” greater, but at 10 centimeters (4 in) shorter in height on average than Dutch men, Japanese men might find themselves straining to reach the proper vantage point…

Japanese tourists are usually surprised to see a complete lack of public bathrooms in subway stations in New York. In the city’s 468 stations, only 77 have restrooms and most of them are either incredibly filthy or never open. Some have even been turned into newsstands, like the one pictured above at Astor Place. The usual response from New York authorities comes down to increased cleaning costs and worrying about drugs, crime and terrorism. (Author’s note: as a somewhat seasoned New Yorker, if you need to go, skip Starbucks [the unofficial public bathrooms of Manhattan] and head to Bryant Park.)

Public bathrooms in the U.S. can be a little frightening for Japanese visitors since American stalls tend to have large gaps between the doors and the wall, not to mention the wide space underneath the stall walls. Once again, American authorities cite the need to curtail sex, drugs and crime for the lack of privacy.

But no country beats China in their quest for the least amount of privacy. Many Chinese restrooms force you to get a little friendly with the person squatting next to you. Those with “performance issues” may want to visit at off-peak hours or keep to an all-liquid diet.

Due to Islamic hygienic laws, many restrooms in Muslim countries come equipped with a “bum gun,” or a shower nozzle used as a hand-held bidet. This is because water is needed to purify your body after defecation. Just make sure you have good aim and take notice of the water pressure!