Last night, after I'd scanned through a couple of holiday catalogues noticing all the cool stuff that is not in my budget, I decided to make my own mental catalogue of things I'm thankful for, and realized that indoor plumbing is close to the top of my list.

My grandparents would say, "Hey, what about your health? There's nothing more important than your health." And oh I am supremely, magnificently grateful every moment of every day for my health. But actually toilets make it easier to stay healthy. National Geographic reported in 2006 that "The lack of a safe, private, and convenient toilet ... undermines health, education, and income generation." So it's not just health; if you're having trouble finding a job or studying for classes, just imagine how much worse it would be if you didn't have that handy flusher in your bathroom.

Not to get too graphic here, but a UN study reported that "1.8 million children die annually from diarrhea that could have been prevented simply by having a clean place to go to the bathroom," and "roughly half of all people in developing countries have an illness related to sanitation and water quality." Whew! Bet you never thought about that as you headed off to your reasonably clean loo, morning paper tucked under your arm.

Did you even know that you missed World Toilet Day this week? Yes indeedy, happens every November 19. And it was good of you take a seat to honor it, even if you had no clue you were doing so.

In fact, I'm betting you just missed the World Toilet Summit and Expo earlier this month in Macau. I had to look up Macau because unlike my bathroom, which is easy to locate, I had no idea where, or even what, Macau is — it's a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, in case you, too, are wondering where in the world one goes to talk about, well, about going.

So this Thanksgiving, as your body digests a scrumptious dinner that you may have eaten just a wee mite too much of, be thankful that you are not one of the 2.5 billion people who don't have a clean and safe place to perform your bodily functions. And give thanks that you do.