My dad always used to say that those French toilets are good practice if you want to take up skiing.
I remember using toilets in Uganda, where they were basically holes dug in the ground - when they filled up, they dug another one.
When you used said thunderbox, you could estimate how full the latrine was by how long it took your erm, waste, to go 'plop'. The longer amount of time the better!
Considering his surname is hardly a term of endearment, we really should be grateful for what Sir Thomas Crapper did for us!