5 Stunning Facts About Sanitation in India You Probably Didn't Know
Here's one that didn't make our list: In India, more people own cell phones than have access to a latrine.

Public Defecation
Half of India’s 1.2 billion people do not have access to a toilet. This means more than 600 million people are left with no choice but to practice open defecation (yep, that’s doing one’s business in streets and fields).
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Unwashed Hands
As most kindergartners have been taught, washing your hands with soap prevents the spread of germs. But owing to a paucity of awareness among Indians, only 53 percent wash their hands after defecation, 38 percent wash before eating, and 30 percent wash before preparing food.
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The Ganges River
Every 60 seconds, 1.1 million liters of raw sewage find their way into the 1,560-mile Ganges River, a waterway considered holy by Hindus. The river plays a significant part in the lives of locals: As children frolic in the muck, another 400 million adults earn income through the river—from clothes washers to funeral home workers who dispose human ashes in it.
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Diarrhea
Many people think of diarrhea as just an unpleasant nuisance, but globally, it’s the second-biggest killer of children under five. In India alone, the disease kills 1,600 citizens per day.
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Gender Injustice
Toilet access has become a civic issue in the South Asian nation. A 2009 study found that in the national capital, New Delhi, 1,534 public toilets serve men. How about women? Only 132. The New York Times reports that females living in villages often go in groups at dawn to avoid taunting and sexual assault.
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A Green Thumb for the Great Indoors: 5 Tips for Gardening Inside
From fewer trips to the grocery store to better health, bringing the green outdoors inside has many benefits. But there’s a thin line between an indoor oasis and a soiled grave of shriveled leaves—especially for those who lack the green thumb. These basic tips can help get you started.