Here’s a question: why would a consumer culture reject a technology that makes one of our most basic human functions more comfortable and hygienic? After all, Americans are voracious in their appetite for novel products when it comes to everything from drinking water to cleaning the floor. But given the opportunity for a more hygienic and comfortable means of doing our bathroom business, all of a sudden we’re intent on sticking with bathroom technology from the 19th century. Why? [SButtonZ button="digg"]
This is the very question that Japan’s largest toilet-maker is trying to answer. The company offers various models that do all kinds of lavish things to and for the user. While they’re ubiquitous in Japanese households–until recently, more common than PCs–”smart” potties have failed to catch on in the US market.
A typical Japanese loo, for instance, would do some or all of these things for the user:
* Cleanse “front and back” with three separate streams of water
* Dry “front and back” with air blowers
* Warm the seat
* Automatically put down the seat (a feature cleverly dubbed the “marriage saver”)
* Illuminate itself with a programmable nightlight
* Monitor medical conditions by preforming urine tests
* De-ionize the air to remove odors
* Play a soothing waterfall or birdsong soundtrack “to drown out embarrassing noises.”
Now, there is a legitimate temptation to chuckle at our friends the Japanese, because they can be pretty weird sometimes and Americans tend to see the whole fancy toilet thing as yet another cultural eccentricity along the lines of those bizarre cartoons and vending machines that sell everything from beer to underwear, etc. etc.
But that’s a mistake. Japanese toilets are objectively superior in every important respect: hygiene, comfort, and environmental impact. It’s simply a better “solution” to keeping our body’s dirtiest (ahem) parts clean–including our hands. There’s really isn’t much room for debate between a quick, simple hands free-method and on that involves chopping down lots of forests and counting on strangers to use soap.
Of course, it’s tempting to giggle at the idea of a device that drowns out farts with the sounds of birds chirping–but there’s no need to confuse that with the larger question.
There is an infrastructure angle here as well. If you aren’t trying to get rid of six linear feet of heavy-duty quilted, lotion-infused Charmin each time you hit the flush lever, toilets can be more sparing in their consumption of water. That savings adds up. Likewise, wastewater treatment plants are–one presumes–less taxed.
The good news is that, as the Economist is reporting, Japan’s largest toilet maker has a new chief executive, and he’s set himself the task of breaking into the American market. Part of the p.r. campaign involves getting state-of-the-art crappers installed in “prominent public locations,” so Americans will be able to take them for a discrete test drive and hopefully get hooked.
A media talking point designed to familiarize the devises is that some celebrities are already devotees. Charlie Sheen loves ‘em, for example. But that’s probably too much information.
MORE ON FANCY JAPANESE TOILETS: Priority Number Two: It’s Time To Get Serious About The ‘S’ Word
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Tags: NEWFANGLED THINGS
I love the comment where the guy misspelled but, as ‘butt’.
ROFL!! I don’t know if it was deliberate.
Jason: 2 years ago there was a big Toto ad campaign with smiles on buttocks and a microsite cleanishappy.com.. there was a huge billboard in Times Sq. It got scaled back because of complaints and was censored with a white bar over the butts.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20071115a1.html
But…the jet seems to be in an area that would be easily contaminated – I can just see all the feminne urinary tract and vaginal infections brewing if you get “cleaned” with jets of water filled with E. Coli and Proteus species.
These sound great, but perhaps they should have put less effort into the rainforest sounds and maybe developed an automatic bunghole targeting system or a manual one that uses submersible fiber optic cameras and closed circuit tv with a joystick.
Hahahahaha i’m english and i got the most perfect toilet seat! Coincidence?!?! have a look the proof is right here – http://www.nationwidebathrooms.co.uk/default.asp?pn=Continuous_%26_Filler_Pieces&t=4&s=55 comfy and warm!
Hey, Gonzobot, WAAAAAYYY too much information about your personal hygiene experiences!!!
“unless I use at least two separate bundles and passes, there’s still crap on my ass. Which means until I shower, it’ll be there, and it gets worse by the hour – sweat gets down there, moving around causes it to liquefy and become soup, which then gets deposited on your gitch and leaves depressing brown stains.”
Hmm, there seems to be a little confusion here.
This article is about Japanese toilet SEATS, not actually Japanese toilets themselves.
Here is a picture of a Japanese toilet with a regular seat.
http://seriousgamessource.com/features/img/JapaneseToilet.JPG
The important treehugger thing about a Japanese toilet is that it has
1) a faucet and basin over the tank, and when you flush the toilet, the faucet turns on for you to wash your hands, and the water then flows into the tank and
2) a flush handle on the side of the tank, and if you push it backward, you get a small flush, and if you pull it forward, you get a full flush.
Toilets in Japan have been like this for more than 50 years, but this seems to be surprising and an “invention” even to editors of, for example, Scientific American.
At our house in Hawaii, we recently replaced a 55-year-old toilet that used 3.5 gallons per flush with a Toto low-flush that uses 1.3 gallons per flush. It does not have the fancy electric seat and bidet. The flush is amazing, quiet, and clean. It was expensive, $500, but there was a $100 rebate from the water company. I guess it will eventually pay for itself, but I am more concerned with conserving water.
The thermosiphon solar water heater we installed 30 years ago is still working fine, and for a $5,000 (in current dollars) investment, we have saved $1,000 dollars a year on electricity (20% return on investment), for a total of something like $30,000, so I think of the new toilet as being “free” in a way.
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