I was left alone in the room for M-E-N. I examined it with great care - the smooth enamel bowl with water in the bottom, the wooden lid with a large hole that looked like a horse collar, the small brown box up near the ceiling, the chain hanging from it. Pressed for time I finally decided it was safe enough to try. What conclusion can you make based on the information in the text?

The author grew up in a home that had modern plumbing.
The author was not familiar with a modern public toilet.
Details about how things worked were not important to the author.