News flush: Japanese toilet exhibition making a splash

TOKYO - In a country known for its high-tech 'smart loos', a Japanese exhibition dedicated to what gets flushed down them and featuring a giant toilet slide is making a splash in Tokyo.

Children wearing poo-shaped hats slid excitedly down a chute into a lavatory standing five metres (16 feet) high, following the "Journey of Poo" at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

The aim of the exhibition, which also includes a chorus of singing toilet bowls, is to educate visitors about sewage, health and waste.

An angry lavatory asked out loud what would happen if the world's loos refused to do their jobs, encouraging toddlers to say 'thank you' after flushing.

Children also lined up to make their own poop from plasticene, while giggling couples enjoying an unusual date also took the opportunity to sport the popular brown hats and slide down the toilet.