Can you beLIEVE the toilet’s design hasn’t evolved since the 1800s? Probably, because you aren’t as obsessed with potty humor as I am. (It’s OK. Few are.) But(t) now, at long last, three design students have given the shitter a makeover! Watch the throne:
This masterpiece, the Wellbeing Toilet, is the handiwork of several Brits who were inspired by World Toilet Day (November 18 — how quickly you forget!). Their design won a U.K. plumbing company’s contest to create The Toilet of the Future. The other designs were uglier and more complicated; theirs looks like Homestar Runner, or a marshmallow wearing a hat:
It’s not just cute; it’s good for you, Fast Co. says:
Today’s toilets force users to perch upright at a 90-degree angle, but that’s not ideal for health, the designers say. “The angle increases the risk of things like colon diseases and bowel-related illnesses,” explains [designer] Sam Sheard. “Ideally you should squat…”
Rather than designing a true squat toilet, the team created a hybrid — you step up on the toilet, and as you bring your legs up, you lean into the correct angle.
This posture-correcting miracle loo could also use graywater, test your pee for diseases, and even tell you if you’re pregnant. (But what will TV characters find conspicuously placed in the trash?!?) It’s not in development — YET — but the technology for the Wellbeing Toilet is totally viable, designers say. Bets on how long it takes someone to pull a Duchamp?
