Jeff Findley wrote:
At least the Soyuz toilet provides suction to get feces to settle into the
collection bag.


Somewhere around here I've got a more detailed drawing of the early
Soyuz toilet, I just haven't been able to find it.
The country that was really forthcoming about a space toilet was China
regarding the one on Shenzhou.
They even put up a webpage giving the dimensions of the urine and feces
collector tubes the Taikonauts would use:
http://wallacewong.com/wp-content/up...ace-toilet.jpg
It also shows that Taikonauts have completly flat buttocks and either
very loose stools or ones that emerge like rabbit droppings as they
appear to have to go down a tube that a marble would have a hard time
fitting through.
This Japanese design is bound to make embarresing noises when in
operation:
http://www.geekologie.com/2009/01/ne...dy_to_drop.php

The NASA adhesive bags used on Gemini and Apollo had no suction. Reportedly
there was trouble getting the excrement to fully release and "drop" into the
bag. From what I remember, there was a place in the bag designed to fit
your finger (like a glove for a single digit) to help with this procedure.
Needless to say, this wasn't an easy task in microgravity.


Didn't we find some sort of storage box for disposable "scrapers" on a
photo of the ISS toilet a few years back?

Pat