Toilet -- Engadget

Transparent public restroom not for those with performance anxiety

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted May 26th 2009 at 9:22PM

As if you didn't have enough to do in the water closet, visitors to this restroom in Lausanne, Switzerland, have one added step: they must actually press the "voir" button to get a little privacy in this otherwise transparent structure. The walls are constructed with liquid crystal glass that becomes see through under electric tension -- which can be triggered via motion sensor, in case all motion ceases for a period of time (napping is not allowed) or if there is too much activity (partying is definitely not allowed). What do you think: Is this a stylish and innovative alternative to the ugly plastic porta-john? Or a disaster waiting to happen? Video after the break.

Continue reading Transparent public restroom not for those with performance anxiety

ITOI children's interactive toilet concept is terrifying

by Nilay Patel, posted Feb 5th 2009 at 4:42PM

We're not so sure you should be teaching your children to shake hands afterwards.

[Thanks, Adam]

Nokia survey finds that many Americans work on the can

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 21st 2008 at 3:33PM

We already know that a solid chunk of Britons use mobile internet while in the throes of passion, and now Captain Obvious (today known as Nokia) has awkwardly landed to tell the world that Americans do too. A recent survey, which we can only imagine was absolutely thrilling to conduct, found that some 53% of working Americans "have been interrupted by a work-related phone call or e-mail while in the bathroom." Furthermore, some 23% have allowed a call / e-mail to interrupt them while on a date, but that's probably because 59% of those polled never, ever turn off their mobile. Just think -- the next time your buddy answers with a hint of stress in his / her voice, there's a statistically significant chance that you're barging in on some seriously personal business.

[Image courtesy of fletchy182]

Video: game consoles stored in Gamestop bathroom

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 28th 2008 at 11:28AM

On a serious note, we're telling ourselves that there's just no way this happens in even a meaningful amount of Gamestop locations, but more than anything, the video waiting just after the break is for chuckles and chuckles alone. Apparently, one quick-thinking videographer-to-be captured a few stacks of Xbox 360s and PS3s in the store bathroom. Yes, the store bathroom. So the Gamestop-sourced console you're playing on right now could have all sorts of restroom-related germs on it. Yikes.

[Thanks, gamestopped]

Continue reading Video: game consoles stored in Gamestop bathroom

International Space Station's lavatory gets repaired, another saga ends

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 10:01PM

We can't say we're terribly saddened that this riveting caper has finally ended -- after all, the poor crew needs a reliable place to unload, right? Shortly after the space shuttle Discovery delivered a new pump for the jury-rigged commode, Oleg Kononenko -- who we hear is now widely regarded as a galactic hero -- spent around two hours installing the hardware and running a trio of tests. After everything was tightened up and functioning as advertised, the crew presumably relieved themselves just before carrying on with the installation of the recently acquired Kibo lab. Crisis averted.

Space shuttle Discovery delivers new toilet pump to International Space Station

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 4:26AM

In what is becoming a fascinating space-poop drama, the International Space Station had a fresh toilet pump delivered today by space shuttle Discovery. For the past couple weeks, astronauts were forced to perform manual flushes, but this pump promises to make things go down a bit easier. We're still under the impression that the toilet will be replaced in the Fall, so more relief is sure to come.

International Space Station's commode gets fixed

by Darren Murph, posted May 28th 2008 at 5:06PM

It's amazing how quickly humans can remedy problems when really placed in a bind, and rather than waiting for supplies to come up with Discovery next week, crew members aboard the International Space Station were able to solve their little dilemma already. Reportedly, cosmonauts were able to cure whatever was ailing the temporarily non-functioning john, enabling those stuck in space to urinate freely. Thankfully, the seven-year old toilet is due to be replaced with a fresh new one this Fall, and we'd say the replacement couldn't arrive soon enough.

Space station's toilet begins to fail, panic sinking in

by Darren Murph, posted May 28th 2008 at 2:52AM

You think it's bad when computers on the International Space Station get spazzed -- just imagine the chaos when the primary commode decides to stop functioning correctly. As of now, crew members are being forced to urinate in a "jury-rigged system" that's connected to the seven-year old (!!!) can, but thankfully, the solid waste collecting part has yet to act up. Still, we can imagine that folks on board are already fearing the worst. NASA officials have stated that they are currently mulling the idea of tossing a few parts on the Discovery just before it lifts off next week for a planned docking trip, which we can only hope pans out. Godspeed just took on a whole new meaning.

[Image courtesy of Nohoz, thanks System48]

Video: Urinal Elephants invade Japan

by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 22nd 2008 at 6:23AM

Uh oh. Best hide the nuts and urinal cakes 'cause a herd of baby blue elephants with little yellow hats are on the loose in Japan. Meet the Urinal Elephant, otherwise known as the Dasubee toilet scrubbing robot. Back 'er up to a ceramic throne of human effluence and watch big blue wipe down your man-stew with the lumbering grace of a robotic elephant. Video? You betcha, right after the break.

Continue reading Video: Urinal Elephants invade Japan

Mac SE gutted, converted into toilet paper dispenser

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 10th 2008 at 8:54AM

We've seen antiquated Macs given new life as fish tanks and living room decorations, but the iWipe takes repurposing to an entirely different level. As you can clearly see in the image above, one particular engineering soul figured a spare Macintosh SE case would look a whole lot better in his bathroom than in the trash, so he whipped out a screwdriver, removed some internal brackets and gave the unit a fresh coat of paint. $15 and a few hours later, out popped his new toilet paper dispenser. Check out the read link for a bunch more pics -- oh, and stop second guessing yourself, you're totally building one of these next weekend.

Turbine could generate electricity each time you flush

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 6th 2008 at 11:06AM

This one's been swirling around for a tick, but Leviathan Energy's brilliant new turbine is just too good to pass up. Showcased at the Cleantech Forum in California, this contraption would reportedly generate power from the downward movement of water through pipes in a municipal system. In other words, there's potential to conjure up energy from simply flushing one's toilet. Of course, there's nothing revolutionary about yet another hydroelectric generator, but using such a device to grab power from such a dirty place takes things to a whole 'nother level.

[Via Inhabitat]

iToilet case mod finally delivers upon the concept's amazing promise

by Paul Miller, posted Feb 21st 2008 at 10:13AM

"iToilet" may very well be the lamest running joke in all of Appledom -- at least one badly done render shows up for every Stevenote that goes by -- so it's nice to see it finally deliver. Some nerds found this here toilet sitting by a street, and after some ill-advised drilling and a few cans of spray paint they had a silver toilet complete with Apple logo and computer internals. Yeah, maybe not our idea of a fun weekend, but for an Apple fanboy this is the truest form of devotion. There's video after the break.

Continue reading iToilet case mod finally delivers upon the concept's amazing promise

LED displays keep folks guessing at nightclub bathrooms

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 17th 2008 at 4:27PM

Interactive nightclubs aren't entirely unheard of, but we'll be sure to relieve ourselves just before prancing into any party scene with these displays on the lavatory doors. The small LED Matrix displays can be mounted on both male and female doors, and the image shown can be switched as folks enter and leave. Needless to say, such a setup caused quite a bit of hilariousness / confusion when caught on candid camera, so be sure and take a peek for yourself after the break.

[Via Halfmachine]

Continue reading LED displays keep folks guessing at nightclub bathrooms

Finland's roadside toilets: now accessible only by SMS

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 5th 2008 at 1:05PM

While those in London can use SMS to actually find a lavatory, folks passing through Western Finland will be required to bust out their handset in order to relieve themselves in select public restrooms. In an attempt to curb vandalism, the Finnish Road Administration has implemented a system along Highway 1 which requires restroom visitors to text "Open" (in Finnish, of course) in order to let themselves in. The idea is that folks will be less likely to lose their mind and graffiti up the place knowing that their mobile number is (at least temporarily) on file, but it remains to be seen if uprooters will simply take their defacing ways elsewhere or actually excrete in peace.

[Via Switched]

SMS-based SatLav service guides Londoners to public toilets

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 29th 2007 at 10:05AM

If you've ever found yourself stuck in London with the insatiable urge to urinate in an alleyway, help is on the way. Believe it or not, a new SMS-based toilet finding service actually has the aforementioned predicament as a top priority to solve, and the Westminster City Council is hoping that people utilize the system to keep streets a bit cleaner. Cleverly dubbed SatLav, the technology enables individuals passing through London's West End to text the word "toilet" to 80097 in order to receive a (hopefully hasty) reply with details to get to the nearest public restroom. Unfortunately, the service will cost users £0.25 ($0.52) each time they use it, so we're a bit skeptical that alleyway urinators will happily cough up some coin rather than just sticking to old ways.

[Image courtesy of BBC]