Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Weird Inventions by Bathroom Readers’ Institute
Book: Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Weird Inventions by Bathroom Readers’ Institute
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Authors: Bathroom Readers’ Institute
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days—hardly anyone bats an eye when some guy in Ohio claims that an image of Liberace spontaneously appeared in the dark brown bits in his morning toast.
You no longer have to wait for the universe or your faulty toaster to bless you with an image burned into your bread, because industrial designer Sung Bae Chang has invented the Scan Toaster. It’s simple, really—it’s a standard toaster that connects to a computer via a USB cord. You use an imaging program to send a picture—any picture at all—to the toaster. The machine then etches the image into toasted bread.
This beats a similar item devised by a company called Yanko Design: the Note Toaster. Not much bigger than a slice of toast, this electronic breadbox features an e-ink display. The user writes a note on the display with a stylus—a grocery list or to-do list, for example—and the toaster burns it onto bread, creating an edible note to enjoy on your way out the door in the morning.
THONG DIAPER
I f there’s been one thing holding adult diapers back from widespread public acceptance, it’s a notable lack of sex appeal. After all, how do you add some marketing oomph to a product whose sole job is to make sure your own oomph doesn’t leak down your leg?
According to one enterprising inventor the answer is, of course, to replace the unsightly fasteners and excess material with thong straps. Because as Dame Fashion always says, “Maybe you can’t control your bowels, but you sure as hell can control how fabulous you look!” While removing protective material from an adult diaper doesn’t seem like the most prudent move, there is a tremendous upside. Thanks to the thong diaper’s slimmer, less bulky profile, whether or not it successfully performs its primary function, you’re sure to turn heads at the rec center.
Of course, the patent for the thong diaper doesn’t explicitly state that it isn’t actually meant for use with babies, but that alternative is simply too revolting to contemplate.
FACE-TO-FACE TANDEM BIKE
C hen Yugang took about a year to figure out exactly how to make it work, but in 2012 he unveiled his tandem bike…on which two riders face each other and somehow pedal in the same direction without smashing into the ground or their knees into each other. One of the riders does have to pedal backward, though, like in romantic slow dancing. That just adds to the atmosphere of what Chen thinks is a romantic bicycle.
Chen’s device can be configured in a number of setups, based on the familiarity and relationship of the duo riding it. “Face-to-face is suitable for a parent and child, or dating couples,” Chen says. The back-to-back mode gives each rider a good view (and not of each other). Standard, double-front-facing style can also be arranged, but where’s the fun in that?
SQUATTY POTTY
B efore flush toilets became commonplace, people did their business while squatting. While this could get messy, it offered health benefits that have been largely forgotten in the modern age. Squat advocates (a real constituency) argue that sitting at a 90-degree angle is not how nature intended us to poop. According to them, squatting can help prevent colon cancer, constipation, hemorrhoids, and “cardiovascular incidents,” like the one that killed Elvis.
The Squatty Potty is a toilet adapter that lets users poop more easily from atop their regular toilets. The device fits over the seat and elevates the user at an angle more akin to squatting. It was invented in 2010 by Judy Edwards. A chronic constipation sufferer, she read about the squat method, and gave it a try. She stacked boxes and phone books in front of her toilet to serve as a squatting platform. This solved her problem, but having all that stuff sitting around was hardly convenient. After consulting with medical professionals to pinpoint the ideal height, position, and angle for squatting, Edwards and her son Robert created the first Squatty Potty.
More than 10,000 Squatty
You no longer have to wait for the universe or your faulty toaster to bless you with an image burned into your bread, because industrial designer Sung Bae Chang has invented the Scan Toaster. It’s simple, really—it’s a standard toaster that connects to a computer via a USB cord. You use an imaging program to send a picture—any picture at all—to the toaster. The machine then etches the image into toasted bread.
This beats a similar item devised by a company called Yanko Design: the Note Toaster. Not much bigger than a slice of toast, this electronic breadbox features an e-ink display. The user writes a note on the display with a stylus—a grocery list or to-do list, for example—and the toaster burns it onto bread, creating an edible note to enjoy on your way out the door in the morning.
THONG DIAPER
I f there’s been one thing holding adult diapers back from widespread public acceptance, it’s a notable lack of sex appeal. After all, how do you add some marketing oomph to a product whose sole job is to make sure your own oomph doesn’t leak down your leg?
According to one enterprising inventor the answer is, of course, to replace the unsightly fasteners and excess material with thong straps. Because as Dame Fashion always says, “Maybe you can’t control your bowels, but you sure as hell can control how fabulous you look!” While removing protective material from an adult diaper doesn’t seem like the most prudent move, there is a tremendous upside. Thanks to the thong diaper’s slimmer, less bulky profile, whether or not it successfully performs its primary function, you’re sure to turn heads at the rec center.
Of course, the patent for the thong diaper doesn’t explicitly state that it isn’t actually meant for use with babies, but that alternative is simply too revolting to contemplate.
FACE-TO-FACE TANDEM BIKE
C hen Yugang took about a year to figure out exactly how to make it work, but in 2012 he unveiled his tandem bike…on which two riders face each other and somehow pedal in the same direction without smashing into the ground or their knees into each other. One of the riders does have to pedal backward, though, like in romantic slow dancing. That just adds to the atmosphere of what Chen thinks is a romantic bicycle.
Chen’s device can be configured in a number of setups, based on the familiarity and relationship of the duo riding it. “Face-to-face is suitable for a parent and child, or dating couples,” Chen says. The back-to-back mode gives each rider a good view (and not of each other). Standard, double-front-facing style can also be arranged, but where’s the fun in that?
SQUATTY POTTY
B efore flush toilets became commonplace, people did their business while squatting. While this could get messy, it offered health benefits that have been largely forgotten in the modern age. Squat advocates (a real constituency) argue that sitting at a 90-degree angle is not how nature intended us to poop. According to them, squatting can help prevent colon cancer, constipation, hemorrhoids, and “cardiovascular incidents,” like the one that killed Elvis.
The Squatty Potty is a toilet adapter that lets users poop more easily from atop their regular toilets. The device fits over the seat and elevates the user at an angle more akin to squatting. It was invented in 2010 by Judy Edwards. A chronic constipation sufferer, she read about the squat method, and gave it a try. She stacked boxes and phone books in front of her toilet to serve as a squatting platform. This solved her problem, but having all that stuff sitting around was hardly convenient. After consulting with medical professionals to pinpoint the ideal height, position, and angle for squatting, Edwards and her son Robert created the first Squatty Potty.
More than 10,000 Squatty
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