El único Panamá - Week 41

Welcome to our weekly series about the uniqueness of Panama!

Photo: www.disunecouleur.com

DO NOT FLUSH TOILET PAPER - HUH?

For many of you this may seem very odd but once in Panama you get it. In various parts of Central and South America, toilet paper is thrown in the trash can or waste bin instead of being flushed in the toilet. It’s not Panama’s practice to dispose of toilet paper by flushing and the old plumbing is not built to handle it. Many places will remind you on the stall door. Although it may seem unsanitary to dispose your paper in a wastebasket if you've never experienced it before, but it's far better than clogging the toilet and flooding all over the place!

As the country continues to progress this is one of the things that is changing.

In Spanish, restrooms are called baños and are often labeled caballeros (guys) and damas (girls).