Wiggling and poking around
This method works suprisingly well. Not only have I fixed a broken toilet this way, but also a broken laptop.

Once when I moved into a new flat, I looked at the toilet and assumed that it was one of those toilets with a flap at the bottom that opens when flushing (a bit like the ones they have on trains in parts of continental Europe). It was only once the estate-agent had gone that I realised the flusher was broken and the dark thing at the bottom was not a flap but the result of an unclean toilet.

I had to go back to the office so decided to leave it until later. Things weren't helped by the fact that that night, I went out for beers and a curry with my workmates. The following morning (a Saturday), It still hadn't been fixed and I had woken up with last night's curry wanting to escape. Fortunately, the office was nearby so I quickly dressed and popped in there to use the loos.

When I got back, a bit of juggery-pokery sorted things out (I was able to flush the toilet by messing around with the insides and somehow managed to make it flushable from the outside).
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Thu 17 Jul 2008, 12:44, Reply)