Australians spend over 8 hours a month on the toilet. Over a year, that adds up to four whole days of lost productivity. With over 75% of Aussies admitting to using their phone while on the loo, it makes you wonder; what if there was a way that you could use this downtime for something useful?
International not-for-profit organisation WaterAid Australia has recently announced its Learn On The Loo campaign. A fundraising challenge that aims to help poor and marginalised communities by inspiring Aussies to learn a new skill while in the bathroom this November.
To help urge Aussies to get into the spirit of things, Sydney rockers Polish Club have decided to get in on the action.
No, the boys aren’t going to use their private time to learn how to incorporate traditional Polish dance into their live shows, ahead of their upcoming Christmas tour, rather, they’re going to learn the lyrics to ‘Despacito’, the hugely popular track by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.
Yes, the world-record setting track has seen some huge success in recent months, thanks in part to a remix featuring Justin Bieber. Of course, Biebs had to learn a little bit of Spanish for that guest spot, so now Polish Club will be doing the same.
Using their time on the latrine this November, Polish Club will be learning all the lyrics to the chart-topping hit, intent on giving us a rousing Spanish rendition of the track. No word yet as to whether this new version will see the massive success that the original has, but we’ll soon see. After all, Polish Club’s success this year proves they can do anything.
Rosie Wheen, CEO of WaterAid Australia, has spoken about the initiative and the good that it plans to do. “Every 2 minutes, a child dies from preventable diarrhoeal-based diseases. A large part of this problem is due to the fact that 1 in 3 (around 2.4 billion) people worldwide don’t have access to a decent toilet. By improving access to safe toilets, clean water and good hygiene, WaterAid can play a part in reducing illness and death caused by poor sanitation,” she said.
“We know the average Australian spends around 8 hours on the toilet every month, with over 75 per cent admitting to using their phone in the loo,” Ms. Wheelan continued. “WaterAid challenges Aussies to dedicate this time to learning a new skill from the comfort of their own toilet, from learning a new language to mastering the Rubik’s cube or simply engaging in mindfulness and meditation.”
“As people learn and share their progress with friends, they’ll be raising money to assist disadvantaged communities to access life-changing sanitation in countries such as Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. For just $40, you can help someone access a decent toilet for the first time,” she said.
Polish Club will be taking to the pot this November to learn the chart-topping hit, so stay-tuned to check out what is bound to be one of the best covers of the track you’re probably ever going to hear.
In the meantime, check out the tour dates to Polish Club’s upcoming tour’, and their brilliant track ‘Beat Up’, below.
Polish Club ‘Christmas In December’ 2017 Australia tour
Supported by West Thebarton and Diet
Friday, 1st December
The Zoo, Brisbane, QLD
Saturday, 2nd December
Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW (All Ages)
Friday, 8th December
The Croxton, Melbourne, VIC
Friday, 15th December
Uni Bar, Adelaide, SA (All Ages)
Saturday, 16th December
Rosemount, Perth, WA
(Stella Donnelly replacing Diet)
