That's required by law? I thought it was just a cost saving measure (like everything else about US...Everything)

What's the purpose?

It’s included by reference as part of the universal plumbing code. There isn’t a “toilet seat act of 1927” or something.

The original intent was to make it easier for women to clean the perineal area without contacting a surface, and reduces genital contact with a surface.

How do I know this? My wife was on a safety committee in a past job where there was a workplace injury claim related to this topic. In our case, there was an automated toilet cover dispenser, which made the round seat code compliant.

> It’s included by reference as part of the universal plumbing code. There isn’t a “toilet seat act of 1927” or something.

Yes. But that standard is being enforced by laws (and perhaps other legal mechanisms) in many places in the US. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Plumbing_Code

I believe it's mostly a matter of hygiene, less contact area for your genitals.

> Toilets in most of the rest of the world are saner. They also typically have a proper seat

Rest of the world? What about the places with squat toilets? Those are common in many places in the "rest of the world", and they don't even have seats!

Pooping while squatting is healthier, so maybe that qualifies as saner too.

It's also just, really damn effective. If you are ever having trouble squeezing one out on our antiquated and stupidly un-designed porcelain throne, get your legs higher so you are closer to squatting, and consider investing in a stool to put your feet on.

If you read carefully, you will notice that I wrote 'most of the rest of the world' exactly because of those caveats.

Here in Singapore we have both styles of toilets.

The rest of the world also has no problem with bidets, here in the US we prefer smearing it around with paper like peanut butter until it’s good enough

That’s pretty much standard in all western countries I’ve visited.

Speak for yourself, my family is buying bidets for 7 or 8 other families. We have two.

They are very popular in Singapore, too. Though very different from what eg the Japanese have.