Taking aim at Japan's washroom wonders

by **ultimateangel** on December 26th, 2006, 2:21 pm

This is a little article that I found to be interesting.

Mainichi Daily wrote:Taking aim at Japan's washroom wonders
Japan's high tech toilets with their automatically opening lids and washers are highly regarded across much of the globe, but the Land of the Rising Sun has also come up with a whole range of lesser known washroom wonders, Spa! (12/26) notes.

Take the Target Seal, a 3-centimeter-high sticker placed inside a urinal to mentally trick men into taking aim when they tinkle instead of merely spraying indiscriminately.

Originally placed in the toilets at Kansai International Airport by a cleaner who'd spotted a similar ploy while on a trip to South Korea, Target Seals are now proving a massive hit for their maker, Taka Art, an Osaka-based printing and advertising company. Target Seals worked so well at KIX, a London market research company declared it had "the cleanest toilets of any airport in the world."

Taka Art's stickers are shaped like beetles for urinals used frequently by little boys and a "777" when used at pachinko parlor urinals across Japan, the latter to remind punters of the lucky numbers they're trying to land in the vertical pinball game. The stickers turn red whenever anybody pees on them.

"If you score a 777 when you're playing pachinko, red lights start to flash on the machine, so we made the stickers go red, too. The beetles are just red," a Taka Art spokesman tells Spa!

Though Taka Art is now making a wee fortune, getting into that situation was hardly a piece of piss.

"We had our employees test out the stickers to see how they worked. We found the best results came when you peed from about 15 centimeters away from the urinal," the spokesman says. "Finding the right material to use for the stickers was a really tough task. And so was getting the temperature settings right. We had to take into account the different degrees of warmth to make sure the colors would change."

After receiving a bit of media coverage, Target Seals soon became a hit, especially with cleaners.

"I used to have to scrub floors like mad to get them clean, but now it's really easy," one hospital janitor says.

Taka Art says its stickers have a bright future.

"Our latest sticker has a pattern that changes when you pee on it," the Taka Art spokesman says. "We're going to keep our focus firmly set on urinal stickers."

Some other bathroom beauties include Orihara Seisakusho's incredible Maholder, a toilet paper holder designed for the partially paralyzed. The Maholder automatically cuts paper at a desired length for those who only have the use of one hand. It can also be used freely, but company president Seiichiro Orihara says its users report using 20 percent less toilet paper than regular holders.

Orihara is also responsible for the Etiquette Tone, an apparatus stuck on the wall of the smallest room of the house and emitting a flushing sound whenever a button on it is pushed. Etiquette Tone is directed at shy women, with the flushing sound aiming to cover the potentially embarrassing noise of a rip-snorting fart. It also saves water because the camouflage flush is a recording and not the real thing.

Toilet Ponchos, meanwhile, are huge jackets that cover the entire body and spread out toward the bottom, permitting the wearer to have a silent slash while standing up and remaining undetected. The effects of the toilet poncho are said to be even better when used sitting down.

But perhaps the ultimate washroom wonder is all about hot air. Gas Medic Pants are undies designed to eliminate the odor of flatulence. At just 140 grams a pair, they're light and airy, according to the weekly. They're also durable, lasting for about 3 months (not presumably if worn every day). Gas Medic Pants are designed for those suffering from chronic flatulence, but have also found fans amongst salarymen who like letting one rip during meetings without leaving a prolonged pong, Spa! says. (By Ryann Connell)