How to use a commode!

Yes! Does this question seems an innate one? I have been studying about the history of commode of a while. I have found there were commodes of lot of different shapes and sizes, all have one thing in common, it allow its user to sit on it, possibly comfortably. I was wondering, what was the alternate before commode era? I am aware about some primitive style commode in different countries, still popular. In those countries an usual char shaped commode is know as high commode, and there is other kind of commode call low commode, where the user will have to sit on his foot and his heap touching his ankle is the position for work!

One of my colleagues here in ***, Belgium went to France for a seminar. He went to the hotel. And he could not figure out how French people use that thing! After coming back to our lab, he was expressing his feeling with simple sentence, some French people to their call of nature while standing...but how? Here is the usability issues. Do really French people do that?

While you are complaining the key knob on the door, just think once more, is that supposed to be what you are thinking about. Do not put your own liking as bardain of lack to the the designers shoulder. There are some users who are just not for that design.