One small light for man, one giant leap for womankind
Y
ou really have to wonder how far the Japanese are prepared to take their quest for developing the perfect toilet.
The latest advance comes from electronic giant Panasonic in the form of a new type of toilet seat that gives guys something to shoot for.
The new seat is equipped with a sensor that causes an underwater light to turn on whenever it detects someone in the vicinity of the toilet. The idea is to provide a point of reference for sleepy guys who are hitting the head in the middle of the night. This apparently helps to keep everything under control, and eliminate one of the top 10 domestic annoyances for women since the beginning of time.
The light also reportedly helps to keep the seat warm.
One major stumbling block would the $1,165 price tag when the Panasonic DL-GWN is released on November 1st in Japan.
Via Ubergizmo
I think newer Japanese toilets are too low and the bowl not deep enough. As a result, unless you hit ‘the sweet spot’, lots of splashage occurs and the whole floor gets sticky.
Fortunately, my apartment (and probably toilet as well) is older then me, and although it may be too low, the bowl is deep enough not to cause a problem.
September 26th, 2006 at 6:04 amFirst, let me explain that toilet design in Australia nearly always involves a small surface area of water far at the bottom of the bowl. I was surprised when I first went to America years ago and found it quite common for toilets to have a huge pool of water in them. Apart from the spash issue for men (as mentioned in the previous post), the big swirl and uprising of water at the flush after “number 2’s” makes for an ugly sight. (As compared with the all obscuring waterfall that happens in Australian toilets.)
From what I can recall, most domestic Japanese toilets don’t have too much water in them, rather like the Australian style, but some commercial ones were close to the objectionable small swimming pool. Resist this design, Japan!
Also, I love washlet toilets, which should be compulsory all over the world. (I don’t go for the “air blower” feature, however, which is rather impractical and blows smells around.)
September 26th, 2006 at 1:10 pmDo keep in mind that America’s lack of Japanese-esk toilet addiction means that we don’t ‘upgrade’ toilets when something better comes out, but rather ‘replace’ when it’s broken beyond repair. As a result, if you go to my mom’s house you will find the same toilet as it was built with 60 years, that is a HUGE waste of water as you describe above, yet at the same time if you go to newer buildings you will find newer more environmentally friendly toilets.
The same is true for people who spend more on repairing their 1970 car that gets 2 gallons to the mile then it would cost them to pick up a newer more fuel efficient car.
But yes, you’re right, said huge pool of water US toilets are not a good thing.
September 26th, 2006 at 5:36 pmSpeaking of weird toilets, I was also quite surprised when I first saw this in Germany. As u can see, the hole is in front, and in the back it has an elevated area with a small pod of water… your solid waste will sit nicely there for your inspection (or whatever else u decide to do with it). When u flush, water comes down from the back like a tsunami, knocking the $hit down the hole in front… Feel free to make your Scheiße jokes now.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:16 amFeatured on BuzzTracker
October 14th, 2006 at 7:30 pm