My grandpa's open air basement toilet had a brick on the lid to keep rats from getting in. The rare times I had to use it I was always so scared of a rat showing up and half the time I couldn't even go because of it
To keep rats from entering the house via sewer lines or to keep rats from climbing in the toilet and drowning? I really need to know more about this open air basement
I once went to a cousin's house in the midwest, and we went to find something in the basement. Fam, it was like the last scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark: stacks and stacks of Stuff as far as the eye could see... To their credit, it was all in bins and shelves with aisle space and fairly well organized...
Great uncle had the toilet but also an overhead shower directly above a drain. Right next to the toilet, of course. The floor wasn't even angled to the drain. He used a mop to push the water to the drain.