[masraum]

It's all about aesthetics. With the seat down it doesn't conjure up the same image as seeing the empty bowl full of water (assuming that it gets flushed).

It's kind of like having a garbage can with a lid. You don't want to see the garbage so there's a lid. Even though it gets flushed, it's still where the garbage goes.

My other peeve is making the bed (unnecessary, really only for looks) and 1 step further, all of those stupid fracking only-for-looks little pillows all over the damn bed.

My favorite scene from "Along Came Polly" is the pillows on the bed scene. Just makes me want to slap my wife every time I see it.