Sean Michael Ragan of Make magazine declares that with this video by inventor Patrick Brawley, steampunk has ‘jumped the shark’:

Introducing the Electro-Flush! Technically, TeslaPunk Urinal. Hand-made solid oak tank with battery powered flush pump, laser aiming assist (aim at the laser dot in the bowl at night), lights, antique gauges, flush capacitor, and cup holder. Bowl is a round 1949 Standard.

via Make

Barbara Heard, from Gretton Road, Winchcombe, said she failed to understand how the signs could have been sanctioned by Tewkesbury Borough Council.

She said: “Does anyone have any idea what these signs mean?

“My husband and I regard ourselves as fairly intelligent but we have no idea.

“What will our overseas visitors will make of these signs?

Chris Pike of the Tewkesbury Borough Council says “ambulant” restrooms are larger than standard, and are “intended for people who may be partially disabled but cannot access the full disabled unit.” Link -via Arbroath

Apparently on the Enterprise-D, there was only one toilet, and the post includes a video of Jonathan Frakes pointing it out on a schematic of the ship.

Link

image by flickr user Richard Freedman used under creative commons license

Georgia Max Coffee chose to redesign the toilets of a number of key ski resorts in Japan. The cubicles were fully wrapped on all sides, so that the person caught short would have a ski jumper’s view when they were sitting on the loo. The person could look down at their skis (simply printed on the floor of the cubicle) and see the steep ski jump slope ahead of them.

Link -via Boing Boing

“It took some lifting to get him out, and he had cut himself pretty good trying to get himself out,” Johnson said.

The man was allowed to wash off with the fire truck hose at the scene, where he made another painful discovery.

“That’s when he discovered the keys were still in his back pocket,” Johnson said.

Link -via Arbroath

(image credit: Ashley Smith/Times News)

Clean and easy to use, the envisioned space toilet is designed to be worn like a diaper around the astronaut’s waist at all times. Sensors detect when the user relieves him or herself, automatically activating a rear-mounted suction unit that draws the waste away from the body through tubes into a separate container. In addition to washing and drying the wearer after each use, the next-generation space toilet will incorporate features that eliminate unwanted sound and odor.

Link

Going to the bathroom doesn’t get much simpler than this. Behold the "Simple Toilet," as envisioned by Jessie Neukomm (bag) and Alejandro Bona (shovel) for the University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL), Switzerland. Link [in French] – via Cribcandy, Thanks Justine Dufrenne!

I imagine this puzzle game would be funny for about 10 seconds, and then your friends are going to start yelling for some TP… or they will put your guest towels to ingenious use, as John Brownlee from BoingBoing Gadgets puts it.

Via BoingBoing Gadgets.