

Most people aren’t taking the time to type in ctrl+shift+u+2+0+1+4
when a regular minus-dash would get the point across with a single keystroke. But there is enough of a distinction that some people (like you and I) will use the proper punctuation when there is an opportunity to do so.
What I find far more suspicious is the unicode hyphen, because no human would be able to tell the difference, and would therefore always choose to input a minus.
I don’t know either. There really isn’t a universally agreed upon standard for how to leave a toilet seat. Even with a sign dictating the expected behaviour, it’s not a guarantee. It’s completely illogical to expect a toilet seat to have been left in any specific state*, and therefore the onus is entirely on the next person to set it how they want before using it. This is already how it works. It takes 1 second. I don’t know who is complaining about it.
Although, on second thought, the only people who would ever have to move the seat in a seat-down world are those who want to pee standing up, and there might be some value in very gently discouraging that behaviour in a public restroom. Not sure if that’s the goal here, but it’s a theory.
*Unless there’s a lid. Close the damn lid!