I was reading an article about the bidet, an entirely useful bit of plumbing that is all but unknown in the US and UK.

Not because it is not eminently useful in keeping parts of you clean without having to shower, but because the use of the bidet was associated with sexual licentiousness: prostitutes used them to flush themselves out to prevent pregnancies.

For that reason, it was summarily rejected by most of US and UK society, whereas it is a standard fixture in France.