1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: and how the tech are you? It is time for 5 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: a tech Stuff classic episode. This episode originally published March eighteenth. 6 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: It is titled tech Stuff Gets Flushed Back when I 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: was really clever with my titles and I hope you enjoy. 8 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:39,160 Speaker 1: So we are talking a mount toilets today. Yeah, it's 9 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: gonna be h This episode is going to be flush 10 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: with puns. Man, I can't take this all right, and 11 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: I know it's bad already, right, So before I really 12 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: get into that, you know, there will obviously be some 13 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: levity in this, but this is actually a very serious topic. 14 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: And to kind of illustrate that, I wanted to mention 15 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: something else. Now this is this is half a year 16 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: away from us. But November nineteenth is World Toilet Day, 17 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: which at first sounds kind of comedic, right, I think 18 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: it's hilarious. It sounds funny. It's it's an event hosted 19 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: by the World Toilet Organization. Still sounds at first when 20 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: you think about it, because the mean toilet humor has 21 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,479 Speaker 1: become like a real it's a real industry into itself. 22 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: But this is not about humor. It's actually the purpose 23 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: of the day and the purpose of the organization is 24 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: to help provide support for getting proper sanitation to the 25 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: world's population. According to that organization, of the world's population 26 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: still practices open defecation. That's a billion people. I mean, 27 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: I knew a lot of people, did I didn't realize 28 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: it was that high a percentage. Now I saw a 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: figure back in I think two thousand nine that was 30 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: two point five billion people. So clearly we've made some 31 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: great strides in in raising sanitation levels, but there's still 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,040 Speaker 1: so much work to be done. And I mean, this 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: is obviously something that we have to be concerned with 34 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: because it can lead to you know, pandemics or at 35 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: least a really bad outbreak of disease, not to mention 36 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: just unpleasant living conditions. Well, you know what's funny is UM. 37 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: I think part of it also is not just that 38 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: people practice open defecation, but that the a lot of 39 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 1: them don't have access to sanitary drinking water as a 40 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: result of their of their waste disposal. UM. But I 41 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: have there are places, especially in um parts of rural 42 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: India where open defecation is practiced, where the people are like, 43 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 1: you can put toilets in here all day long, we're 44 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: not going to use them because we find open defecation 45 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,119 Speaker 1: as part of like wholesome country living. Is the way 46 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: that I've seen it put like it's just part and 47 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: parcel with being outside and you know, watching a squirrel 48 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: run past you while you're pooping, that kind of thing, 49 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: and like really taken in the whole scene. It's a 50 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: cultural thing at that point. Yeah, where it goes beyond, 51 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: it goes beyond, like it's it's not necessarily just the 52 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: lack of facilities, it's this has become a way of life. 53 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: I could understand that. I mean, I know there was 54 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: even some reluctance in Japan to go from the UH 55 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: the more trough light toilets that they used to. Yeah, 56 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: there's there's much smaller percentage of the toilets in Japan 57 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: are those, but they still do exist. But there was 58 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: a large UH hesitate to use the word, movement trend 59 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,519 Speaker 1: to going toward more western style toilets over the last 60 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: couple of years. I know, I'm sorry, it's gonna happen. 61 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: Chris Palette is only here in spirit, but he is here. 62 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: You're channeling him pretty hard. Yeah, so let's go with 63 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: a little history lesson before we get into how toilets 64 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: actually work. Now, if you're looking for the earliest evidence 65 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: of organized waste management systems, you look at Mesopotamia, which 66 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: makes sense because that's where the original civilizations. Yeah, it's 67 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: also a great bift two songs, But this would be 68 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: back at the b c E. Around approximately around that 69 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: era when you would see these organized systems for waste management. 70 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: One thing I thought was really interesting was I watched 71 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: a documentary about a Neolithic village that was on the 72 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: Orkney Islands, uh in Scotland. Um, we call it scare Bray. 73 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: That's the name we've given it. Because any actual records 74 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: of this village haven't existed for more than a couple 75 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 1: of thousand years. This village was forgotten. No one knew 76 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: it was even there until there was a major storm 77 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: that washed away some of the land that had grown 78 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: up built up around on top of the village. Is amazing. 79 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: Right when it was discovered, you immediately had a and uh, 80 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: there was an expedition, let's say to uncover the village, 81 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,280 Speaker 1: but it was not led by anyone who's ever been 82 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: actually identified. In other words, was treasure hunters didn't probably 83 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: didn't find anything really of value there. There was certainly 84 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: no you know, hordes of gold and diamonds and jewels there. Uh. 85 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: And it wouldn't be until the nineteen thirties that a 86 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: more organized archaeological dig would take place. And after that 87 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: there was another storm and they had to actually shore 88 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: up the area to protect it as an archaeological site. 89 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: And what they found was that this tiny village, which 90 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: dates to around three thousand BC in Scotland, had these 91 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: homes that were very sophisticated. You would walk in, there'd 92 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,359 Speaker 1: be a large bed on the right hand side, a 93 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: smaller bed on the left, which mirrors regular practices of 94 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: the time where the husband and wife. The husband would 95 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: have the larger of two beds. They had a fire pit, 96 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: a hearth, but they also had a essentially a toilet. 97 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:01,840 Speaker 1: They had a stone cabinet with a hole cut so 98 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: that you could sit down on it, with channels that 99 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: lead out to the ocean, and ocean water with the 100 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: tides would actually flush this, so these were flushing toilets. 101 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: They weren't manual flush. You title flushed, so you had 102 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: to wait, hey it's still flushed. Yeah, it's the important 103 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: point in this took the waste away, right Yeah. Yeah, 104 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: So all the way back to three thousand BC. Uh, 105 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: the actual the whole area of scare breaks fascinating. So 106 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: definitely look into that a get a chance. I mean, 107 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: I've seen it before. I've seen just the settlement pictures 108 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: of the settlement. It is pretty advanced. You don't think 109 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: of the Orkney Islands and three thousand b C. Is 110 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: you know, the seed of civilization technology. But yeah, they 111 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: had something going on. It's pretty surprising, yeah, because I mean, 112 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: you know, when I think of of society civilization in 113 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: the British Islands, I'm thinking closer to you, the Roman times. 114 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: But it's pretty amazing how sophisticated was even back then. Uh. 115 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: Ancient Greeks also they used sewage systems to channel waste 116 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: away from living quarters. The Romans went even further. They 117 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: would have these, especially if you were a very wealthy 118 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: or powerful Roman. You might have a pretty styling, you know, bathroom, 119 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: heated seats. He did marble seats, um and it maybe 120 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: private from what I understood, but for the most part, 121 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: public bathrooms really took the public thing to the nth degree, 122 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: where it was just like basically a long bench with 123 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: different cutouts, you know, space not very far apart. Frankly, um, 124 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: and you'd have maybe eight or ten maybe fifteen. Yeah. 125 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: I saw there was a public restroom in Syria. UM. 126 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: I think was contemporaneous to to Greece. Um that sat 127 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: like eighty right, and there's no partitions, there's no nothing, 128 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: And it seemed to be um kind of a social 129 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: endeavor where like you just sit there and chat with 130 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: somebody while you're pooping. Yeah, it's kind of funny to 131 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: think about how it was this communal social activity, or 132 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: at least it wasn't separated from any of the communal 133 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: and social activities, whereas today we have all these unspoken 134 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: rules of of you know, no talking in the bathroom, 135 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: you keep your dirty behavior to yourself. Yeah, I don't 136 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: know if you've ever seen it. There's actually if I'm 137 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: a Shinima cartoon using them, I think it's the sims 138 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: where it's to illustrate the rules in the men's restroom, 139 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: and rule number one is if there's a line of urinals. 140 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: You take one on either end. It doesn't matter which end, 141 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: just it has to be on the end. The next 142 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,719 Speaker 1: person and has to take the one on the furthest end. 143 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,079 Speaker 1: And then as long as there's at least one empty 144 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: one separating you and the next person, you can take one. 145 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: But if there isn't, you gotta leave, like like there's 146 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: it was this crazy series of but it was a 147 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: series of rules where and then the comedy came from 148 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: the fact that you're like, this is kind of how 149 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: guys behave in the bathroom. For me, it's the cardinal 150 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: rule is if there's two two stalls, um, and the 151 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: doors shut on one, then both are occupied by by default. 152 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,199 Speaker 1: That must make it difficult here in this office because 153 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: the bathrooms go uh floor to ceiling with the doors 154 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,200 Speaker 1: and they're shut all the time. So that's that's different 155 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: like that these bathrooms are prime real estate in my opinion. 156 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: But if you remember in the last place where aust 157 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: the First was headquartered, it was, you know, just a 158 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: partition and you can see feet and everything, and it's 159 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: that's just to me, like we we really have advanced 160 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: to the point where you know it is a private 161 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: act and um, it's not to be shared. It's not public. 162 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: We're not in ancient grease any longer. Um. And so 163 00:09:57,240 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: if somebody's in a stall, you don't sit down next 164 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: to I just I really feel strongly about that. I 165 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: can understand. And it's interesting because when we get into 166 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,560 Speaker 1: advanced toilets like the Japanese toilets, they take that to 167 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:17,319 Speaker 1: the next level to create another another level of privacy 168 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: for that. Yeah, it's pretty neat, Like you swipe your 169 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:21,959 Speaker 1: hand in front of a sensor and it takes you 170 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: to the seventh dimension, completely out of reach of anybody here. 171 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: It's you and and that's it. He's in the ninth, 172 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:33,679 Speaker 1: isn't it. Yeah, I think he is, or the tenth. 173 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: That's one of those. Yeah. So one of the other 174 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 1: things we can talk about before we move into the 175 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,440 Speaker 1: earliest flush toilet is that when you're looking at say 176 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: Europe in the Middle Ages all the way up into 177 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: the Renaissance. Uh, you're talking about especially like, you know, 178 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: I think about castles I frequently. I do, I really 179 00:10:55,080 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: do frequently think about castles. Um. Their facilities were pretty primitive. 180 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 1: It was essentially a hole cut into the you know, 181 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: like a like a stone seat, sometimes with a wooden 182 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: panel on top of it. Uh that then had a 183 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: channel that that slanted away from the wall, and your 184 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: your waist would drop down either into a cesspit, a moat, moat, 185 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: sometimes just the ground. On the invading armies, that is 186 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,560 Speaker 1: also a possibility. And these were called garter robes, and 187 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 1: they were also closets. They weren't just bathrooms. They were 188 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: closets you would hang your clothing because the ammonia from 189 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:40,959 Speaker 1: your urine would kill fleas. Oh wow, that is very 190 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: surprisingly clever. It's not scar break clever, but it's up there. 191 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 1: So if you're wondering when the first flush toilet comes along, 192 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,720 Speaker 1: it's actually a lot earlier than I had anticipated. It's weird. 193 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: I don't know how I never came across this back before. 194 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: And it's one that, by the way, a lot of 195 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:03,559 Speaker 1: people in our office. It comes from fift nineties six 196 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 1: John Harrington. Yes, he was a cousin I think of 197 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: um Elizabeth the first Yeah, he was her godson. Okay, 198 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: that's what it was. And he designed this flushing toilet 199 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,719 Speaker 1: or prototype of a flushing toilet for her. Yeah, and 200 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: she probably didn't use it very much. She didn't admit 201 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: to it. She was a queen, and technically, when you're 202 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:28,199 Speaker 1: queen you can pretty much poop wherever you like. Someone's 203 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: going to take care of it. But he called it 204 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 1: the ajax. No, here's the thing. John Harrington was a rake. 205 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, he was like Greg ken hear level rake, 206 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: you know, kind of like. He was known for passing 207 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: around lewd poetry to the ladies of the court. He 208 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: loved too. He was very clever and he loved being 209 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: clever and so lewd poetry flushing toilets well, he called 210 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,679 Speaker 1: it the ajax as a pun. It's a pun on 211 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:05,959 Speaker 1: the term jake's, which is a euphemism for toilet. It's 212 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: like the john it's the jake's, So a jax is 213 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: a pun on jake's. And it had a pan into 214 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,080 Speaker 1: which one would do one's business and assist turn that 215 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,439 Speaker 1: you could pump water up into, and then a handle 216 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: and when you pulled the handle, it opened up a 217 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: valve that allowed the water from the cistern to come 218 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 1: down and wash away what was in the pan down 219 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: through a channel that would go out to assess pool 220 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: onto an invading army, or onto an invading army as 221 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 1: the case may be. As far as I know, he 222 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: only built two. I think he built one for the 223 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,839 Speaker 1: queen and one for himself. Uh So it was an 224 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: interesting idea, did not catch on at the time. Uh 225 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: it really just showed his inventiveness. To to look at 226 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: the next approach to the flushing toilet, you have to 227 00:13:53,840 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: go ahead by almost two hundred years Alexander coming exactly, 228 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 1: and he he invented something that ended up being very 229 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: important for the flushing toilet, the S trap. Yeah, so 230 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 1: much so that it's still basically the design of toilets today. Yeah. Now, 231 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: this is the pipes that you see that lead out 232 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 1: from your toilet, and it's called an S trap because 233 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: it's in that S shape, right, Yeah, or some people 234 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: consider it an upside down you or something like that. 235 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: It all depends on one how much of it you 236 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: can see and to exactly what implementation it is. But yeah, 237 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: the U trap is another way of looking at an 238 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: upside on you. Uh So. The important thing about this 239 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: was that it would allow uh it would well trap 240 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: water once it had gone down the pipe from coming 241 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: back up, and it would also thus trap the smell, Yes, 242 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: which is very important with sewers because if you're taking 243 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: a piece of technology and connecting it to an open sewer. Yeah, 244 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: the smell is gonna be something. Yeah, it's gonna be 245 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: how to take care that? And he did with the 246 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: s trap. Yeah, and it was really a brilliant idea 247 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: and also so much so strickly that like three two 248 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,720 Speaker 1: hundred years later, two fifty years later, Um, we're still 249 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 1: using this guy's design. It is not been improved upon 250 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,360 Speaker 1: in two hundred and fifty years. Right there. There are 251 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: a couple of other variations on it, but it has 252 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: the basic design is still what we rely upon because 253 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: it works. Has no moving parts for just that that pipe, 254 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: so it can't break down in that sense. I could 255 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: still get clogged. Maybe we'll talk a bit about clogs later. Yeah, well, 256 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: you know you gotta talk about it. I didn't. I 257 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: did not know we were going to talk about clogs. Well, 258 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: I apologize. If you want, you can check out for 259 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: that part of the yet, I'll go to my happy place. 260 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: That's good. Yeah, we'll just watch you kind of stare space. Um. 261 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: But it also he also invented a sliding valve between 262 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: the bowl and the trap, which allowed some water to 263 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,480 Speaker 1: stay in a bowl after you flushed, so that it 264 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: could hold on to the waist for the next time, 265 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: and so you didn't just have just an empty bowl 266 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: of waste and then put water into it. It was 267 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: you know, it actually improved the performance quite a bit. 268 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: And you had a lot of other inventors who followed, 269 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: like Samuel Prosser, Joseph Brama, Thomas Twyford. They all made 270 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: improvements to the basic design of the toilet. We're gonna 271 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:28,920 Speaker 1: take a quick bathroom break, but we'll be right back 272 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: with more tech. Stuff gets flushed. Okay, So you may 273 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: have heard the somewhat apocryphal tale that the toilet was 274 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 1: invented by a man named Thomas Crapper. Apply enough, Yeah, 275 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: one of those ha ha. Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? 276 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: Alanis Morris At moments, you know, I think it might be. 277 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: It's like it's like rain on your wedding day, It's 278 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: like Thomas Crapper making a toilet, But I'm pretty sure 279 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 1: that's the way it goes. Um. Thomas Crapper, as far 280 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: as we can tell, was actually a person. There are 281 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: records of a Thomas Crapper who who held patents in 282 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century and their plumbing patents, and some of 283 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 1: them in fact involve improvements to the water closet or toilet. 284 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: But he didn't invent it um, and he may not 285 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:30,360 Speaker 1: have had that big of an impact overall on the 286 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 1: toilet evolution. It's just one of those facts that kind 287 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,919 Speaker 1: of got passed around, as you know, or one of 288 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 1: those those tidbits that gets passed around. The total truth. 289 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: Plus he pronounced his name crep it's crepe Um. Yeah 290 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: it was. It's one of those things where I actually 291 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: looked into it too, because it was like, well I've 292 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 1: always heard that as well, and I'm curious where that 293 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: came out. Well, yeah it is. It's got it has 294 00:17:56,119 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: traction because it's just so delightful. Yeah yeah, uh. Going 295 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,120 Speaker 1: back to mid forty eight in the UK, that's when 296 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: they passed the Public Health Act which stated that all 297 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: new houses in the UK had to be built with 298 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: a toilet. Very smart. Yeah, it's a great way of 299 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: preserving your your various towns and cities from becoming overrun 300 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: with filth. Right. But then, and this is still um 301 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:28,639 Speaker 1: in play today. There's a certain psychology around defecation, urination, 302 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:34,639 Speaker 1: expelling waste, right, and it can swing wildly from era 303 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: to era, but at that time, in the mid nineteenth century, 304 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:43,159 Speaker 1: forcing the public to install indoor plumbing wasn't like the 305 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:48,119 Speaker 1: public was saying, yes, thank you government, we've been waiting 306 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: to have to do this. It was more like, um, wait, 307 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: you want us to put a toilet where next to 308 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: the kitchen? What is wrong with you? No, that's disgusting. 309 00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: We want to put this over in the back garden 310 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: where you know, you know, achiever pot. It's mobile that 311 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 1: we can put wherever and get rid of immediately, Like 312 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: this is gross, Like you want us to hook it 313 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: up to the sewer? What's wrong with you? So there 314 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:15,159 Speaker 1: was like a certain amount of resistance to adopting this, 315 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: whereas now, um, you know, it's yeah, you want that, 316 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 1: you want indoor plumbing, And it's based on the cultural 317 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:28,680 Speaker 1: attitudes toward expelling waste that that vary from time to time. Yeah, 318 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: it's it's it's hard. I mean, it's very easy for 319 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,119 Speaker 1: us to start looking at everything from our current perspective, right, 320 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:36,439 Speaker 1: It's very difficult to take ourselves out of that. But 321 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: you do have to do that when you start talking 322 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 1: about subjects like this. Because it was a different world 323 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: I mean people thought differently and for for reasons that 324 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,159 Speaker 1: you can kind of understand when you think about it. 325 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: And you know, if you think, well, now I've got 326 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: a thing that dumps waste into a sewer, but I 327 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: don't want any of that smell or nastiness or anything 328 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: to get into my home. When four I had a 329 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: portable thing, I could actually take it outside and dump 330 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,440 Speaker 1: it in a cess pool or whatever. It wasn't there 331 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: wasn't a big change. Plus plus, it's like that's my poop. Yeah, 332 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: it's poop, but it's I know where that poop came from. 333 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:17,440 Speaker 1: Whereas with the sewer, everybody else's poop has the opportunity 334 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: to come into your house, yeah, which you don't know, 335 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,399 Speaker 1: you didn't want, don't want that. Another interesting point is 336 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:30,159 Speaker 1: I've been talking exclusively about people inventors and engineers in 337 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 1: the UK. Now, when settlers came over to America, they 338 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: did not come over with plans for toilets, and so 339 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 1: the toilet actually had a parallel evolution in the UK 340 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,959 Speaker 1: and in the United States evolved in isolation basically a 341 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: little bit, yes with with a little bit. I mean 342 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: they obviously had some common history there, but it was 343 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 1: largely engineers in the US who created very similar style toilets. 344 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 1: In some cases, they were toilets that were lagging behind 345 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 1: the tech anology by about twenty years compared to the UK. 346 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: But you had folks like James T. Henry and William 347 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: Campbell who were awarded a U. S. Patent for a 348 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: water closet toilet um. And that's where we really see 349 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: it moving forward from that point on and to the 350 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,399 Speaker 1: point where they essentially merged like the the You know 351 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: that we saw the United States adopt things like the 352 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 1: s trap, uh, making the toilets more useful. Um, do 353 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: you know when toilet paper was invented? Toilet paper was 354 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: invented in ninety eight. I predate ninety eight, and I 355 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:44,159 Speaker 1: distinctly remember toilet paper. You were off by almost a 356 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: hundred years when toilet paper was invented, didn't They used 357 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:54,479 Speaker 1: to use the series robot catalogs Corn Cob. There's actually 358 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 1: some poetry that I've read where there's a discussion a giant. 359 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,199 Speaker 1: I forget what whim it is, but there's a giant 360 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:06,120 Speaker 1: talking about all the different things he has used to 361 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 1: clean himself after after evacuation, including I think he determined 362 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: that the most comfortable was the neck of a goose. 363 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: Oh that is nice. Yeah, not not for the goose, 364 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: but yeah uh so. Yeah. The toilet paper was in 365 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,120 Speaker 1: but not marketed heavily until nineteen two, so for more 366 00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:30,159 Speaker 1: than a decade. Yeah, it just kind of I was like, well, 367 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 1: I mean, why we got the series robot catalog Cobs. 368 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: How do you look around your house and say, oh, yeah, 369 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: corn Cob, that's a that's a good idea, bad idea. Yeah, 370 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,400 Speaker 1: sure it's got traction, but pay a price for that track. Yeah, 371 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 1: I I hesitate to hazard a guess, to be honest, 372 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: idea to have some at home? All right, okay, well 373 00:22:55,280 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: I'd like to apologize on behalf of Josh's gee. I'd 374 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: like to extend to you my apologies for giving him 375 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 1: the idea. Let's talk about how a toilet actually works. Okay, alright, 376 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 1: So you got your basic parts of the toilet. You've 377 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: got the tank, You've got the bowl in which you 378 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 1: do your business, and then you have the siphon the 379 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: s trap area that where the waist goes once you flush, 380 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: which is technically part of the bowl. Yeah. Yeah, it's 381 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,919 Speaker 1: just it's easier to talk about it as separate parts. 382 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 1: But yes, you aren't correct. So inside the tank you 383 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: have the flush valve. This is the valve that allows 384 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,560 Speaker 1: water to flow out of the tank and into the bowl. Yes, 385 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,360 Speaker 1: so when you press down the handle, yeah, there's that 386 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,680 Speaker 1: handle is connected by chain to that flush valve. That's 387 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,640 Speaker 1: the thing that lifts up and lets the water from 388 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: the tank into the bowl. Yeah. And once the water 389 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: is flowing down, like for most toilets, you no longer 390 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: have to hold the handle down because just the water itself. 391 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: Once the valve is an open position, it will remain 392 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: open until the water level is low enough for it 393 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: to close again. Yeah, they make it so it's light 394 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:07,400 Speaker 1: enough to float. Yeah, right, because it's overcome suction thanks 395 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 1: to the handle um and it's floating there, and then 396 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 1: as the water drains out, its ability to float stop, 397 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 1: so it falls back into place. Ideally. Ideally, Yeah, there 398 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,000 Speaker 1: are times obviously, if you have issues where maybe there's 399 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: a hinge that's a little too tight, or there's something 400 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: off with the sela of on the the valve, that 401 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:28,640 Speaker 1: you may have to have that replaced, because otherwise water 402 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: just continuously flows into the bowl and it never accumulates 403 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 1: in the tank. I found that most of the time 404 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: it's because there's a little bit of extra chain that's 405 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:44,640 Speaker 1: keeping the flush valve from sitting in suction from from generating. Uh. 406 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: You you also have a second valve inside the tank, 407 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: the filler valve. The filler valve is what allows water 408 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: to go into the tank as well as into the 409 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: bowl after a flush, so uh it needs to it 410 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,199 Speaker 1: refills the tank after you flushed it. So you flushed 411 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,920 Speaker 1: the tank, the water from the filler valve will start 412 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: to pour into the tank to refill it. Once that 413 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 1: that flush valve has shut uh. Some of that water 414 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,680 Speaker 1: also will go into the bowl to bring the level 415 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: back up to the proper height. And then you've got 416 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: a filler float. This is a yeah, this is a 417 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,920 Speaker 1: brilliant idea. The idea is that the filler float will 418 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,400 Speaker 1: rise to a certain level within the tank, and once 419 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: it's at the proper level, it will activate a switch 420 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 1: then turns off the filler valve, so so that way 421 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 1: you no longer have water running in your tank. If 422 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 1: you ever hear water continuously running in your tank, it 423 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,439 Speaker 1: means that float is not activating the switch properly, and 424 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,400 Speaker 1: you may need to take the lid off and see 425 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: what's going on with that float. Maybe it's stuck on something, 426 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: or it's you know, it's it's the switch might be 427 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: burnt out, in which case you would need to have 428 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: that switch replaced. But that's what's causing that or this Again, 429 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: the flush valve could be not seen and popular in 430 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 1: water is just rushing out, So that's filler valve. Balloon 431 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: isn't getting to that level where it's supposed to where 432 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: it can trip the filler valve from turning off again, 433 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,680 Speaker 1: right exactly. Yeah, that could be another another cause for it. 434 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: But you don't have to fear because even if the 435 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 1: water is running, your toilet will very likely not overflow 436 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: because it's been designed so that as the tank fills, 437 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,880 Speaker 1: even if it keeps filling and filling and filling, it's 438 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,159 Speaker 1: going to the overflow um tube, I guess, is going 439 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: to direct that into the bowl. Right, So any water 440 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: that comes above the height of the overflow tube will 441 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,119 Speaker 1: just flow down the tube. The tube leads to the 442 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: bowl and water will flow into the bowl. And then 443 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,360 Speaker 1: you think, wait, wait, wait that cause it to flush. Yes, 444 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:47,880 Speaker 1: surely somewhere this thing's got to flood what's the deal. 445 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: Why doesn't it all right? That's when we get into 446 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,439 Speaker 1: the siphon where my head pops. Yeah, this is the 447 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,199 Speaker 1: sciphen gets a little for those who those of us 448 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: who are many years away from basic physics, the scipen 449 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: gets confused. So the siphon is designed. So this is 450 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: that that sort of upside down you or the s 451 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 1: shaped pipe the top of that upside down you the 452 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 1: peak there that's at the same level as what the 453 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 1: toilet bowl, the level of water and your toilet bowl 454 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 1: will be. Now, if you were to pour more water 455 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: into the toilet bowl, because there's there's just this open 456 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: area between the siphon and the bowl. You know, putting 457 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 1: more water in makes the water level rise on both sides, right, 458 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:33,879 Speaker 1: But if you're only putting in a little bit of water, 459 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,440 Speaker 1: that water will just rise up above the level of 460 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:41,440 Speaker 1: the bend and flow down the other side of the bend. Yeah, 461 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,400 Speaker 1: And and I should I want to point out that, um, 462 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:48,359 Speaker 1: this is your explanation is spot on, but would be 463 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: exponentially easier if somebody were looking at a cross section 464 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,120 Speaker 1: of a toilet flushing s valve right exactly. Yeah, Yeah, 465 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: it would really drive at home, Yeah, because it's it's 466 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,159 Speaker 1: this is me trying to paint a picture of a 467 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: toilet plush in words, yeah, with physics. Yeah, So you've 468 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: got you've got this this level here, and as long 469 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: as the water is just flowing gently so for in 470 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,400 Speaker 1: other words, like a steady stream from the overflow too, 471 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,479 Speaker 1: then it's just going to gradually rise up till it 472 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,800 Speaker 1: hits above that you bend and then flow down the 473 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: other side. And that's all that happens, because it's not 474 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,680 Speaker 1: it's not creating the siphon effect yet. Yes, So the 475 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:29,359 Speaker 1: water is in that in that s trap and in 476 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: your toilet bowl, and on the other side of the siphon, 477 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: in the tube that leads down to the sewer, that 478 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: that air is imbalanced with the air that's in the 479 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 1: toilet bowl, right, So you basically have air pressure balancing 480 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: your water and keeping it in place. Yep, yep. And 481 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: it's only if you were to fill that siphon, that 482 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 1: s trap with water completely that that then things get 483 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 1: out of balance. And here's where the siphon affect comes 484 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 1: into play. So how does a siphon work all? Right? 485 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 1: First of all, siphons a bent tube used to move 486 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 1: a liquid from a high evolution elevation rather over an 487 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: obstruction and to a lower elevation. Done and done right. 488 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 1: You could do this very easily by taking two cups, 489 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 1: filling one cup with water, putting a couple of books 490 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,160 Speaker 1: down on a table. So you put the cup full 491 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: of water on top of one of the set of books. 492 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,040 Speaker 1: Get a tube, like a flexible tube of some sort, 493 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,920 Speaker 1: submerge it in the water so that the tube fills 494 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:30,800 Speaker 1: with water. Put your thumb over one end of it. 495 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,120 Speaker 1: Move it over to the other cup, which is on 496 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 1: the surface of the table. Yeah, make sure that the 497 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: make sure that the end of the tube that you're 498 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,480 Speaker 1: holding ends up being lower than the level of water 499 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: in the cup. Let go. Water will start to flow 500 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: from the cup that's above to the cup that's blow 501 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: even though the tube will arc so the water is 502 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: technically flowing uphill. Yeah, which is pretty neat. Yeah. As 503 00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: long as the lower end of the tube going into 504 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: the lower elevation glass um, as long as that is 505 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: exposed to air, and as long as the end of 506 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,240 Speaker 1: the tube that's in the higher glass is under water, 507 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 1: the air pressure in the tube is overcome and the 508 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: suction effect takes place right well kind of, except that 509 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,160 Speaker 1: the other the tube in the lower elevation does not 510 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 1: have to be above water. It can be. It can 511 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: actually be completely submerged as well as long. What will 512 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: happen is if the two water levels reach the same 513 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: height uh and I mean same height relative to the table, 514 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,640 Speaker 1: then pressure is equalized and everything will everything is an 515 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: equilibrium and water will stop to float. It's but as 516 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 1: long as the elevated cup has a higher water level, 517 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 1: water will continue to flow through that siphon. And the 518 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: reason there are two reasons really. One is that water 519 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:54,360 Speaker 1: inside a chamber like that acts like a chain. It 520 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 1: pulls itself along. The other reason is that you have 521 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: think of the tube as an arc. Well, the tube 522 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 1: that leads down to the lower elevation is longer. That 523 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: side is longer than the side that's in the higher elevation. 524 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:15,760 Speaker 1: So the water that's in that part is heavier, and 525 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,080 Speaker 1: that weight is what's pulling water along inside the tube. 526 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 1: And it's until until you hit equilibrium. So for a 527 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 1: toilet to get it back to to the toilet example, 528 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 1: and why it's important when you flush that water from 529 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,360 Speaker 1: the tank rushes into the bowl and it does so 530 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 1: fast enough to completely fill the pipe that s trap. 531 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:42,000 Speaker 1: This activates the siphon effect, and the water pulls the 532 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 1: waist and also all the rest of the water along 533 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 1: with it through that s trap until it gets to 534 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: a point where it has exhausted the amount of water 535 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: that the tank has put into the bowl. And then 536 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:55,960 Speaker 1: air is introduced, and once air is introduced, the siphon 537 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:59,440 Speaker 1: effect stops. Right. So with a siphon, not only is 538 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,640 Speaker 1: the water flowing out of the bowl because there's so 539 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: much water what about two or so gallons introduced to 540 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: your toilet bowl in about three seconds that that siphon 541 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,560 Speaker 1: effect is produced in the s trap, right, Yeah, not 542 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: only is that water flowing, it produces a type of suction, 543 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 1: So the water in the bowl is sucked out and 544 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: down the siphon. And then, yes, like you said, once 545 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 1: the air is introduced, because the water and everything sucked 546 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: out of the toilet bowl, the suction effect is cut 547 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 1: off and everything goes back to the way it was 548 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: before you flush the top. Right, that's when the filler 549 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,440 Speaker 1: valve can start to refill the bowl because now that 550 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 1: there's no longer anymore suction going on the bowl, water 551 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 1: level can return back to what it was as well. 552 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 1: And keep in mind that part of the s trap 553 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:48,080 Speaker 1: that you know you can't see because it's a solid pipe, 554 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,160 Speaker 1: but that also ends up filling to that same height 555 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:53,640 Speaker 1: as the water that's in the bowl. And then you're 556 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:55,920 Speaker 1: ready to go again once the tanket's bowl anyway, Yeah, 557 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 1: once you eat some kimchi. We talked about that before 558 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,080 Speaker 1: the podcast started. Um, but yeah, one other thing to 559 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 1: keep in mind. You might say, well, why do we 560 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:06,680 Speaker 1: need a tank at all? Why not just have a 561 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: water pipe going directly into the toilet and then when 562 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: you flush, it just opens up a valve for a 563 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 1: certain amount of time and then closes. And the reason 564 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 1: is because unless you have insane water pressure in your house, 565 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 1: you're not putting enough water in fast enough to fill 566 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:27,280 Speaker 1: that s trap completely to to activate the siphon effect. 567 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: It's just going to trickle out like if your tank 568 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:34,040 Speaker 1: was overflowing exactly. So there's some buildings that I mean 569 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:37,760 Speaker 1: a lot of buildings that don't have UH tanks on 570 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 1: their on their toilets, but that's because again they are 571 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:45,320 Speaker 1: directly connected to a very powerful water system, and thus 572 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 1: you don't need a tank because the water pressure that's 573 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 1: coming in is great enough to start that effect all 574 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 1: by itself. Yeah, or sometimes it's even more terrifying noise 575 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 1: than that. So that's your basic toilet, how your basic 576 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:02,640 Speaker 1: toilet works. But so glad we're past the Siphon effect. Yeah, 577 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 1: that's I feel like we just made it through the 578 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: woods together. Now now we're going to go into the bright, 579 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:13,479 Speaker 1: gorgeous future of weird toilets. This is great. So let's 580 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: talk Japanese toilets for a second. And I'm not talking 581 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,600 Speaker 1: about the ones, the trough ones, which we established there 582 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: are still some in Japan, and trough is one way 583 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:28,279 Speaker 1: to put it. More like uh oolyptical hole in the 584 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:30,720 Speaker 1: ground is another way you could describe it as well. 585 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:35,239 Speaker 1: On the floor yeah yeah, so yeah, you straddle and 586 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:41,759 Speaker 1: then squat and then evacuate and then and then evacuate, 587 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:44,880 Speaker 1: evacuate the area. Like I would just be like, I 588 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:46,480 Speaker 1: don't know if I did it right, and run one 589 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:50,319 Speaker 1: down the street. I mean, um, like I can't read 590 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: your language, and I'm so sorry. Just yeah, that's kind 591 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: of how I probably react. I mean, I am, I'm 592 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,640 Speaker 1: being honest here, But no, the Japanese toilets, the more 593 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 1: Western style ones have features. Many of them have features 594 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 1: on them that put our Western toilets to shame, like 595 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 1: just phenomenal. Alright, we got a little bit more to 596 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,799 Speaker 1: say on this topic. Before we get to that, though, 597 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 1: Let's take another quick break, so let's talk about some 598 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 1: of the features. That's good, fine, sorry, do you want? 599 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,279 Speaker 1: Do you have a favorite out of all of them? 600 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 1: The air dry air dry, that's pretty amazing. I'm big 601 00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:40,560 Speaker 1: on the sound masking. Yeah, they they they offer. Most 602 00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 1: Japanese toilets that have all the bells and whistles offer 603 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:48,759 Speaker 1: a sound masking feature that's a flushing toilet. Yeah. Some 604 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,919 Speaker 1: of them now have also classical music, but which makes 605 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 1: with some white noise. Um. I actually did a brain 606 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,160 Speaker 1: Stuff episode about what white noises and how it works. 607 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,200 Speaker 1: So you should check for superiors. But yeah, it's the 608 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:05,040 Speaker 1: that those are so two of the very simple ones. 609 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:07,320 Speaker 1: But it also tends to have a couple of different 610 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:12,359 Speaker 1: options for washing your nether regions once you are finished. Yes, 611 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,960 Speaker 1: and depending on your gender, Um, you should, I should say, 612 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,239 Speaker 1: depending on your sex, you should be very careful what 613 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 1: option you choose when you're in Japan. Yeah, but day 614 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 1: would be aimed for you know, ladies, and then you 615 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,240 Speaker 1: have rear washing, which is for you know, everyone, depending 616 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:35,520 Speaker 1: upon what activities you got up to on that bathroom. 617 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:40,040 Speaker 1: Um and uh, yeah, so there's usually there's a picture 618 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:42,880 Speaker 1: of like a icon that looks kind of like a 619 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:47,040 Speaker 1: butt with some sort of stream of something directed at it. 620 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:50,280 Speaker 1: That would be for washing your rear. The day usually 621 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: has a icon of a lady somewhere on it, like 622 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,200 Speaker 1: there's a ponytail involved, Yeah, something like that to indicate 623 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,160 Speaker 1: what that was for. And uh, if you're wondering, like, well, 624 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:03,400 Speaker 1: wait a minute, I'm this sounds like this could be 625 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:08,880 Speaker 1: really unhygienic. The Japanese are very concerned with clean ling 626 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:14,960 Speaker 1: and so these are nozzles that are usually hitten away 627 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:17,120 Speaker 1: from the inside of the toilet bowlts only when you 628 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,160 Speaker 1: press the button that they get there's like essentially a 629 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 1: door that opens and the nozzle can come out, and 630 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:26,200 Speaker 1: they have nozzle sterilization technology to clean them between uses. 631 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:29,959 Speaker 1: And so yeah, they usually have buttons where you also 632 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,080 Speaker 1: have to like a stop button, so if you press 633 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,719 Speaker 1: one of these, it essentially goes until you tell it 634 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:37,480 Speaker 1: to stop. Yeah, and the person who wrote this, um 635 00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:41,839 Speaker 1: this how to use a Japanese toilet post points out 636 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:45,640 Speaker 1: that before you choose either of these options, you want 637 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:50,560 Speaker 1: to press the stream power down as as low as 638 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:52,640 Speaker 1: it will go to start, and then you can adjust 639 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:56,560 Speaker 1: it upwards. Um. Here, she says that at the normal 640 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:00,239 Speaker 1: setting is equivalent to about a water pick. Yeah, which 641 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:03,960 Speaker 1: on your on your on your junk. That's not good. 642 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,879 Speaker 1: That's really, that's terrible. It might come as a big 643 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: surprise for that to to hit certain sense to variation. Yeah, so, yeah, 644 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:15,600 Speaker 1: it's setting it low and does Some of them also 645 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:18,840 Speaker 1: have controls for the temperature of the water, not to 646 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:22,400 Speaker 1: mention the temperature of the seat. Uh. Some also, like 647 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:24,879 Speaker 1: you mentioned, have the air drying so that after you 648 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:29,560 Speaker 1: have had your rear washed, air dry it, which I mean, like, yes, 649 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:32,279 Speaker 1: that's cool, there's like the days and rear washing all 650 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:34,799 Speaker 1: that stuff, but you're not gonna stand up right afterwards 651 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,120 Speaker 1: to be what you have to have the air dryer. 652 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,760 Speaker 1: That's why, I mean, that's the best part. I agree. 653 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:41,719 Speaker 1: I agree. I mean, if if you're going to have 654 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:44,480 Speaker 1: these other features, you really knew do need the air 655 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:46,200 Speaker 1: dryer or else you're just like, well, I guess I'll 656 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:48,960 Speaker 1: be sitting here for a couple more minutes before I 657 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:52,920 Speaker 1: dare move. Another interesting thing to me about the Japanese 658 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:56,399 Speaker 1: culture um and it makes perfect sense. I totally understand it. 659 00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:00,200 Speaker 1: But you know, in Japan, shoes are really considered to 660 00:39:00,239 --> 00:39:03,640 Speaker 1: be quite dirty. That's one of the dirtiest pieces of 661 00:39:03,719 --> 00:39:06,920 Speaker 1: clothing that people have. So it's customary, of course to 662 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,319 Speaker 1: take your shoes off and slip into house slippers before 663 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:12,520 Speaker 1: moving going into a house. Absolutely, bathrooms have their own 664 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:15,640 Speaker 1: sets of slippers, and it is quite a faux pod 665 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:17,799 Speaker 1: to mix the two together. Oh yeah, if you were 666 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:20,560 Speaker 1: to step out of the bathroom wearing bathroom slippers, you 667 00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:23,480 Speaker 1: would shock people, especially if you did like a little 668 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:27,920 Speaker 1: dance like I'm American. Oh yeah, I don't, and you can. 669 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,799 Speaker 1: You can usually tell the bathroom slippers um from They 670 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,080 Speaker 1: have almost like a bit of a waterproof look to them. 671 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:38,080 Speaker 1: Usually they're a little shinier, they're made of they're not 672 00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:43,600 Speaker 1: like um cloth. Usually they you could tell just using 673 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,360 Speaker 1: your your noodle compared to house slippers. You'd be like, 674 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:52,759 Speaker 1: these are probably the bathroom slipping toilet slippers. Or they 675 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:55,120 Speaker 1: might be brightly colored and you think no one would 676 00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:57,719 Speaker 1: ever wear these anywhere else, or maybe they have a 677 00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,720 Speaker 1: poop emogy on them. It could be those are popular. 678 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:03,520 Speaker 1: Another feature you might find on the toilets is a 679 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:07,040 Speaker 1: deodorizer button. Yeah. Also kind of interesting. So I found 680 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,359 Speaker 1: a toilet if I may give a plug, Even though 681 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,160 Speaker 1: I should say I have no financial interest whatsoever in 682 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,080 Speaker 1: the Cohler company, but I have become a fan of 683 00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:20,520 Speaker 1: their new me uh toilet. Oh yeah, I can't even 684 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:23,120 Speaker 1: begin to describe it. It's just so neat as far 685 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: as the design goes. Um. Just go to just look 686 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,640 Speaker 1: for the new me toilet and U M I um. 687 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:32,760 Speaker 1: But one of the things they have is a deodorizer. 688 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:37,600 Speaker 1: It's like, um, basically a little vent where the the 689 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:42,520 Speaker 1: the odor is sucked in and run through a charcoal filter. Nice. Yeah, yeah, 690 00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:46,800 Speaker 1: I mean I when I read about the Japanese toilets, 691 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:49,160 Speaker 1: obviously there's some some humor that comes in that just 692 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,799 Speaker 1: from the cultural differences things like that, which can seem 693 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:55,560 Speaker 1: very funny. But at the same time, I am incredibly envious. 694 00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:58,200 Speaker 1: I would love to have a lot of these features 695 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,680 Speaker 1: building two American toilets. Uh. There. There are some moves 696 00:41:02,719 --> 00:41:05,640 Speaker 1: to improve toilet technology in various ways. Some of it 697 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:09,400 Speaker 1: is a conservation trying to find low flush toilets that'll 698 00:41:09,719 --> 00:41:14,400 Speaker 1: still activate the siphoning UH technique, but not use as 699 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:17,439 Speaker 1: much water and a go very important. Did you see 700 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:21,719 Speaker 1: the no mixed toilet? I did? Yeah, the the one 701 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,080 Speaker 1: that has met It has kind of like a ledge 702 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:29,200 Speaker 1: and and filter for U urine and then behind that 703 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:33,600 Speaker 1: would be where go. Yeah, it's it's meant so that 704 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:36,600 Speaker 1: when you when you just have to urinate, you don't 705 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:39,200 Speaker 1: have to flush the toilet. Yeah, it doesn't flush at all, 706 00:41:39,239 --> 00:41:42,799 Speaker 1: and as a matter of fact, it collects the urine UM. 707 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,640 Speaker 1: And one of the reasons why the company that originally 708 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:49,520 Speaker 1: started making no mixed toilet stop making them is because well, 709 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:51,680 Speaker 1: number one, they didn't catch on very well, there's a 710 00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:57,000 Speaker 1: lot of hesitancy UM. But the another reason is they 711 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:01,279 Speaker 1: they didn't quite have the infrastructure to collect the urine 712 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:05,960 Speaker 1: separately and send it off. Although environmentally speaking, it makes 713 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:10,320 Speaker 1: a lot of sense to separate urine from feces, especially 714 00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:14,200 Speaker 1: UH and not flush urine because when you flush urine, 715 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: you're introducing a lot of other stuff besides just the urine, 716 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:22,759 Speaker 1: Like if you are on UM pharmaceuticals, those a lot 717 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:26,360 Speaker 1: of that stuff is expelled and metabolized and expelled in 718 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:30,040 Speaker 1: your urine, and it gets introduced into wetland areas and 719 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:31,799 Speaker 1: things like that, and all of a sudden you have 720 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:35,680 Speaker 1: frogs they're like have roid rage or something, uh, you know, 721 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,680 Speaker 1: or that like a rubbing themselves against walls because you 722 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:43,560 Speaker 1: took too much ecstasy the night before. Yeah, I mean, well, yeah, 723 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,919 Speaker 1: anything you're taking into yours, anything you're gonna excrete spin 724 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,440 Speaker 1: filtered through your kidneys, you're going to have some some 725 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:54,040 Speaker 1: other elements in there too, consumed. But so the the 726 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:57,279 Speaker 1: no mixed toilet collects this urine and sends it off 727 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,440 Speaker 1: for separate recycling. And then if you're really hard core, 728 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,680 Speaker 1: you know Granola or your city is, then maybe it 729 00:43:04,719 --> 00:43:07,560 Speaker 1: gets recycled into water and you drink that and pee 730 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:11,040 Speaker 1: it out again and again it becomes a closed loop. Yeah, 731 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:14,120 Speaker 1: and we've talked about that on Forward Thinking. We talked 732 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:17,840 Speaker 1: about that with systems aboard UM, the International Space Station 733 00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:21,520 Speaker 1: ways of water reclamation. So that I mean, obviously, if 734 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:23,400 Speaker 1: you are in an area where you get very little 735 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:26,480 Speaker 1: water or it's very difficult to ship water to you, 736 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:28,359 Speaker 1: you have to make the best use of all the 737 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:31,719 Speaker 1: resources you have. Uh. There's some other things we can 738 00:43:31,719 --> 00:43:36,919 Speaker 1: talk about as far as toilet advances, smart toilets. So 739 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:40,640 Speaker 1: sensor technology has gotten to the point now where it's 740 00:43:40,719 --> 00:43:46,720 Speaker 1: it's very inexpensive, it's it's versatile, water waterproof. It's entirely 741 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:52,920 Speaker 1: possible to design sensors that could uh measure your waste 742 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:58,200 Speaker 1: and and come up with actual information that could be 743 00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:02,480 Speaker 1: relevant to your health. So I saw some interesting examples, 744 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:04,440 Speaker 1: like the idea of a sensor that could be an 745 00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:09,960 Speaker 1: early pregnancy detection by detecting changing hormone level. Um. It 746 00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:13,400 Speaker 1: might analyze your waste detect the bacterial infection, so it 747 00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:15,960 Speaker 1: might tell you. It might even send you an indication 748 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:17,560 Speaker 1: saying you know, you need to take it easy for 749 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:19,160 Speaker 1: a little while, or maybe even you need to go 750 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:24,160 Speaker 1: see a doctor. With the right kind of software, you 751 00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:26,440 Speaker 1: and this is not hard to do at all. You 752 00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:29,200 Speaker 1: could even have one that could send a notification to 753 00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:34,280 Speaker 1: your doctor, or even go further, have one that's linked 754 00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:38,000 Speaker 1: to your doctor's calendar and your calendar and even create 755 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:41,360 Speaker 1: an appointment for you, so your toilet does all that 756 00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:44,080 Speaker 1: for you. It's it's possible. It's not something that we're 757 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:47,520 Speaker 1: necessarily seeing everywhere, but it's possible. I could see some 758 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:51,319 Speaker 1: problems with this though, well yeah, I mean, like, first 759 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:55,759 Speaker 1: of all, there's a real hesitancy by people to especially 760 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:59,719 Speaker 1: put their medical records out there, their health data UM 761 00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:03,719 Speaker 1: at feel like those as as the advantages or the 762 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:08,359 Speaker 1: benefits of allowing the Internet of things or that that 763 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:12,200 Speaker 1: level of tech into our lives, especially with health um 764 00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:16,120 Speaker 1: become obvious to more people, the more just relaxed everybody's 765 00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:18,799 Speaker 1: going to become. I mean, think about it, five ten 766 00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:24,480 Speaker 1: years ago, say five, the putting your credit card into 767 00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:28,040 Speaker 1: a website to order something was still like really sketch 768 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:31,120 Speaker 1: you to a lot of people, And now enough people 769 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:34,879 Speaker 1: have done it that it's just it's just whatever, that's 770 00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:38,640 Speaker 1: the norm. Yeah, right, And I think health our health 771 00:45:38,719 --> 00:45:41,319 Speaker 1: information is going to go that same way. I can 772 00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:45,360 Speaker 1: see that. The only thing I see as uh possible, 773 00:45:45,440 --> 00:45:47,359 Speaker 1: well not the only thing, but one of the things 774 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:51,640 Speaker 1: I see is an impediment to this is how do 775 00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:55,000 Speaker 1: you identify the person who is using the toilet at 776 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,799 Speaker 1: any given situations? So, for example, Josh, let's say I 777 00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:01,040 Speaker 1: have you over and you need to use my restroom, 778 00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:05,400 Speaker 1: and unbeknownst to me, you are carrying around a really 779 00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:10,600 Speaker 1: awful bacterial infection that's poised to wreak havoc in your system. 780 00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:13,400 Speaker 1: And so as you use my restroom and you flushed 781 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,000 Speaker 1: the toilet, it analyzes it and suddenly thinks that Jonathan 782 00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:18,240 Speaker 1: has gotten really sick. Next thing, I know, my doctor 783 00:46:18,320 --> 00:46:21,279 Speaker 1: is calling me. Now I know about your health condition. Yeah, 784 00:46:21,320 --> 00:46:24,440 Speaker 1: that's that's a very good point. Um. I would guess 785 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:30,640 Speaker 1: then if if toilets are analyzing us our health personally, 786 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:35,120 Speaker 1: then a toilet itself will become a much more personal thing. 787 00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:40,520 Speaker 1: So maybe I have a dumb toilet as my guest toilet, 788 00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:43,120 Speaker 1: and then my smart toilet is the only one that's 789 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:48,040 Speaker 1: in my master bathroom. Or here's another thing, Stop me 790 00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:54,200 Speaker 1: if I sound crazy. Stop You've got a biometric authentication 791 00:46:54,920 --> 00:46:57,920 Speaker 1: system for your toilet where you have to scan like 792 00:46:57,960 --> 00:47:01,560 Speaker 1: a thumb print or in retinal scan to identify you 793 00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:06,960 Speaker 1: before using it. Thus you can't possibly confuse too people 794 00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:10,600 Speaker 1: and you cannot flush until you have identified yourself. That's 795 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:13,520 Speaker 1: a good one. No, that's a I mean, it makes sense. 796 00:47:13,600 --> 00:47:17,840 Speaker 1: My my wife and I have um an aria uh scale. 797 00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:22,520 Speaker 1: Oh yeah right, it's like fitbit um and it can 798 00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:25,600 Speaker 1: easily tell us apart. But because I mean, it just 799 00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:28,719 Speaker 1: determines like wait and all that stuff. Um, so it 800 00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:30,719 Speaker 1: can it can easily tell us apart. But you know, 801 00:47:31,239 --> 00:47:34,040 Speaker 1: maybe the seat does detect by weight, or there is 802 00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:36,640 Speaker 1: some other detail about you that just by sitting on 803 00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:40,440 Speaker 1: the toilet, uh, it says this is Jonathan or this 804 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:43,440 Speaker 1: is not This is someone who's broken into Jonathan's house 805 00:47:43,480 --> 00:47:45,719 Speaker 1: to use this toilet. Right, well, that would be another 806 00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:50,120 Speaker 1: using your bathroom. Should I lock the door? Yes, and 807 00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:53,680 Speaker 1: turn on bathroom webcam? Right? Yeah, there you go. And 808 00:47:53,760 --> 00:47:56,600 Speaker 1: also the you know, deodurize, let's just go ahead and 809 00:47:56,600 --> 00:48:02,120 Speaker 1: be safe. So there are other potential dangers and one 810 00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:05,359 Speaker 1: of those is hacking. So there's already a story about 811 00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:09,000 Speaker 1: a smart toilet hacking situation which happened back in two 812 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:13,160 Speaker 1: thousand thirteen. Ours Technica reported that, according to security firm 813 00:48:13,239 --> 00:48:18,560 Speaker 1: trust Wave, the Enacts Status automatic toilet had a Bluetooth 814 00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:22,360 Speaker 1: security vulnerability and it was a doozy so to speak. 815 00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:27,400 Speaker 1: So the you know, when you pair to bluetooth capable 816 00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:31,920 Speaker 1: technologies together, you generally have some sort of code that 817 00:48:31,960 --> 00:48:34,359 Speaker 1: you have to put in in order to pair them. 818 00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:36,960 Speaker 1: Not always, but a lot of them do. And the 819 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:41,719 Speaker 1: problem was they had hardwired the same master code in 820 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:44,440 Speaker 1: all of these toilets, and it was just zero zero 821 00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:49,360 Speaker 1: zero zero, right, So any app for this toilet compare 822 00:48:49,440 --> 00:48:52,719 Speaker 1: with any toilet just from being in the same area. Right, 823 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:57,120 Speaker 1: So if you are within bluetooth distance, which is pretty decent, 824 00:48:57,280 --> 00:49:00,479 Speaker 1: I mean, you don't it's not that far, but it's 825 00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:03,000 Speaker 1: not you know, it's it's not like you could do 826 00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:06,839 Speaker 1: it from two fifty feet away necessarily, But if you're 827 00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:09,759 Speaker 1: close enough, like within the building or on the on 828 00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:12,000 Speaker 1: the side of it or whatever, you can totally pair 829 00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:16,520 Speaker 1: your phone with the toilet inside and essentially hijack someone's toilet, 830 00:49:16,760 --> 00:49:18,920 Speaker 1: which you know you might think, well, why could you do? Well, 831 00:49:18,960 --> 00:49:22,839 Speaker 1: this thing had the ability to open and close via 832 00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:24,680 Speaker 1: a command on your phone, so that way you didn't 833 00:49:24,719 --> 00:49:27,520 Speaker 1: have to touch the toilet seat. It also allows you 834 00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:30,240 Speaker 1: to control things like the bidet or the rear washing 835 00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:34,560 Speaker 1: uh nozzles, so you could you could turn it on 836 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:37,600 Speaker 1: like you could turn on one of those nozzles when 837 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:40,040 Speaker 1: no one's on the toilet and start flooding their bathroom, 838 00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:42,759 Speaker 1: or you can do it when you realize someone's just 839 00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:45,440 Speaker 1: got into the bathroom and they haven't even really started yet. 840 00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:47,279 Speaker 1: You could do it then and just laugh at the 841 00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:52,120 Speaker 1: hilarious or close the toilet seat while they're mid you 842 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:55,800 Speaker 1: know activity, you know, you know, it's ironic about using 843 00:49:55,800 --> 00:49:58,680 Speaker 1: an app on your phone to open and close the 844 00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:01,560 Speaker 1: toilet seat. Would it be that the phone surfaces the 845 00:50:01,560 --> 00:50:06,200 Speaker 1: dirtiest service to come in contact with toilet? Yeah, I 846 00:50:06,239 --> 00:50:09,560 Speaker 1: thought that might be where you were going with that. Yeah, guys, 847 00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:12,640 Speaker 1: if you didn't know, if you have smartphones, got touchscreen, 848 00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:16,040 Speaker 1: hits filthy. It's about the dirtiest thing you probably come 849 00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:19,279 Speaker 1: into contact within any day, including the toilets. Yeah. Yeah. 850 00:50:19,640 --> 00:50:23,480 Speaker 1: The one thing that might be uh, you know, a 851 00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:26,640 Speaker 1: good competitor with that would be a keyboard. If you 852 00:50:26,760 --> 00:50:29,160 Speaker 1: use a keyboard on a daily basis, that's probably pretty 853 00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:33,640 Speaker 1: gross too. Yeah. So what's in the future for toilet's 854 00:50:33,680 --> 00:50:36,879 Speaker 1: Probably we will see some more of these, uh these 855 00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:40,239 Speaker 1: things that are common now in Japanese toilets kind of 856 00:50:40,239 --> 00:50:43,480 Speaker 1: filter their way through to other ones. I imagine we'll 857 00:50:43,480 --> 00:50:46,839 Speaker 1: see more moves to conserve water. It may even mean 858 00:50:46,920 --> 00:50:49,520 Speaker 1: that we end up moving away from the siphon model 859 00:50:49,640 --> 00:50:53,600 Speaker 1: and find a different model to deal with waste so 860 00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:57,040 Speaker 1: that it does it's not reliant upon creating enough water 861 00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:01,920 Speaker 1: to create this section. We'll have to wait and see um, 862 00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:06,319 Speaker 1: but we have to thank the brilliant men and women 863 00:51:06,360 --> 00:51:11,640 Speaker 1: who came before us forging the path to make incredibly 864 00:51:11,719 --> 00:51:15,600 Speaker 1: useful piece of technology, and also hope that we can 865 00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:19,600 Speaker 1: continue to strive to get it to more people so 866 00:51:19,640 --> 00:51:23,120 Speaker 1: that we can improve the quality of life for folks 867 00:51:23,120 --> 00:51:28,720 Speaker 1: who who otherwise are in pretty rough you know, circumstances 868 00:51:29,080 --> 00:51:34,920 Speaker 1: when obviously when cultures are going to adopt it. So, Josh, 869 00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:36,640 Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining me on the sand. 870 00:51:36,680 --> 00:51:39,080 Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. This was a joy. It 871 00:51:39,160 --> 00:51:41,480 Speaker 1: was fun. It was fun. I'm glad we were able 872 00:51:41,520 --> 00:51:44,200 Speaker 1: to talk about this in a mature way with only 873 00:51:44,239 --> 00:51:47,400 Speaker 1: a few terrible jokes on my end, relatively mature. We 874 00:51:47,440 --> 00:51:52,160 Speaker 1: did pretty juvenile at times, but mostly I hope you 875 00:51:52,239 --> 00:51:55,120 Speaker 1: enjoyed that classic episode of tech Stuff that published way 876 00:51:55,160 --> 00:52:01,680 Speaker 1: back in the halcyon days of If you have suggestions 877 00:52:01,680 --> 00:52:04,240 Speaker 1: for topics I should cover in future episodes of tech Stuff, 878 00:52:04,280 --> 00:52:06,320 Speaker 1: please reach out to me on Twitter. The handle for 879 00:52:06,360 --> 00:52:09,520 Speaker 1: the show is text Stuff h s W. I'll talk 880 00:52:09,560 --> 00:52:18,319 Speaker 1: to you again really soon. Y tex Stuff is an 881 00:52:18,320 --> 00:52:22,000 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 882 00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:25,520 Speaker 1: visit the i Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever 883 00:52:25,600 --> 00:52:27,120 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.