Toilet Adventurers: That One Project Work Group that Visited 150+ Toilets
An unexpected rise to fame. One group's quest to review all toilets in Singapore. I interviewed one of the members behind the research project and learnt more about their motivations!
What would you do with a one week break from school?
Typical answers include: hanging out with friends, spending two hours per day on TikTok, pursuing a hobby, or doing some homework.
This Project Work (PW) group from Eunoia Junior College (JC) was tasked with going on a self-directed learning journey to anywhere in Singapore in preparation for a school presentation.
And for some reason, this group of five decided that it would be good to cover the topic of… toilets.
They visited all train station toilets and tossed in some mall toilets into the mix. Some members even reviewed coffee shop toilets. Their efforts amounted to 31.5 hours’ worth of reviews, and they visited over 150+ toilets.
One member of the group, Kelvin, posted the group’s experience on r/SGExams, the subreddit that covers all details of student life in Singapore. The post has since gone viral and currently stands at 2,100 upvotes.
They collated all their findings into a comprehensive Google spreadsheet that you can find here. I was so intrigued by their toilet project and reached out to Kelvin to ask some questions! Fortunately, he was gracious enough to entertain me – even though the group was also busy entertaining The Straits Times!
Here’s what he had to say about his group’s research project.
The Interview
1. Out of everything you guys could have done, why did y’all decide on toilets?
As one of the 5 guys in my class, we were ideating for our March holiday assignment when my friend, Xavier, joking suggested [that we cover] toilets. As a group of foolish J1s, we decided to do it because it was funny.
On my end, I decided to go all in (into data collection and analysis) because I decided to seize the opportunity to conduct primary data collection. I’ve always loved conducting research and have been actively pursuing [related] opportunities for years. In Secondary 2, I analysed the distribution of shopping malls across Singapore in comparison to population density for a holiday research module, and in Secondary 3-4 I participated in the Nanyang Research Programme Junior (NRPjr) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on the Singapore Stone. [I] subsequently published a paper on the subject (you can find it here).
My previous projects have both been on secondary date, so I decided that conducting some primary data collection during the holidays would be fun. The rest is history.
2. In your Reddit post, you mentioned that the toilet at Marina Bay Sands achieved the highest rating. Based on the toilets you guys reviewed, did you have a personal favourite?
[My] personal favourite toilet was Jewel @ Changi Airport’s. I think Changi [Airport’s] toilets are the best in general, but Jewel doesn’t play music in its restrooms – that affected its score a lot.
3. In your Reddit post, you mentioned that Jurong East MRT Station’s toilet was smelly. On the opposite end, which toilet had the best aroma? Describe the smell!
Jewel’s [toilet] smelt nice. It had a faint perfume smell.
4. I noticed that your group compared your results against the ratings provided by the Restroom Association (RA). What did you feel was lacking for the RA rubric?
The main issue with the RA star system is the way the stars are awarded. [It is] not transparent and they come at the behest of the toilet owner, so they (RA) views only the ideal conditions and not the actual day-to-day conditions. For instance, they rated stations in MRT stations that were not open yet (e.g. Marina South MRT station), so their ratings do not reflect the actual situation.
I cannot comment further on their rubrics as they do not publish a full breakdown.
5. Will you guys continue reviewing more toilets in Singapore?
We’ve been reunited by the PW department for our actual PW group, and we’re continuing the toilet theme! Look forward to more amazing toilet projects 😊
6. Do you have anything to say to fellow toilet crusaders out there?
Keep calm and keep (toilets) clean!
What is the Happy Toilet Programme (HTP)?
Implemented in 2003, the programme was developed and implemented by RA. It is an initiative that grades public toilets using a star-grading system, focusing on the following five main areas: Design, Cleanliness, Maintenance, Effectiveness and Satisfaction.
You can assess the grading checklist here.
The Evolution of PW as a Graded Subject
Kelvin’s PW group is part of the first batch of JC and Millenia Institute (MI) students who will not have PW computed into their university admission score (UAS).
Instead of letter grades, PW has become a pass/fail subject.
Singapore Minister of Education Mr Chan Chun Sing announced this change in March 2023, saying, “Making PW a pass/fail subject now encourages our students to exercise greater agency and creativity in areas of interests, rather than be driven by grades.”
As a student who had to undergo the old system where PW was calculated into my UAS, I wish that this change was implemented earlier.
PW, to say the least, was the bane of my existence. My group chose to do a topic that our subject tutor had a lot of experience in. However, I can’t say that we were interested in it at all – all we wanted to do was to get a good grade so that it wouldn’t affect our A-level results.
I have many grievances about PW, but I will reserve them for another day.
With groups like Kelvin’s having the creative liberty to choose whatever they want to do, this once dreaded subject appears to have become a source of innovation. In my opinion, this was not achieved under the previous grading system.
The group has recieved immense support for their project. Recently, Eunoia Junior College posted a post on its official Instagram account that was dedicated to the toilet researchers. The post even featured the five students posing with a toilet.
While this new system of PW is only in its first year, there seems to be some renewed optimism about the subject. I cannot imagine a project on toilets being approved in my year, even if the project dedicated the same amount of time and effort that Kelvin’s group did.
A huge shout out goes to Kelvin for entertaining my questions! This silly article could not have been done without his help.
Thank you for reading!
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About the Author
Rachel resides in Singapore and is currently in her second year of university. She’s majoring in Literature and minoring in Creative Writing. When she’s not worrying about her assignments, she likes to read and do photography.
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