urinals

Pee power! African teens create urine-fueled generator

In a stroke of ingenuity that could have proven handy during Hurricane Sandy, four teenage African girls have come up with a urine-powered generator.

Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, and Faleke Oluwatoyin, all 14, and Bello Eniola, 15, collaborated on the invention, which they claim generates one hour of electricity from one liter (about a quart) of urine.

The pee-powered product made its debut at Maker Faire Africa in Lagos, Nigeria, this week. A post on the Maker Faire Africa blog describes the generator's workings in the following words: … Read more

World's fastest camera detects elusive cancer cells

Modifications to the world's fastest camera are enabling the real-time identification of rare breast cancer cells in blood, with a record low false-positive rate of one cell in a million, according to new research out of UCLA.

"This technology can significantly reduce errors and costs in medical diagnosis," lead author Keisuke Goda, a UCLA program manager in electrical engineering and bioengineering, said in a school news release.

The team's approach could not only pave the way for earlier detection of cancer and monitoring of drug and radiation therapy but also prove useful in urine analysis, water … Read more

Cheeky talking urinal cakes join drunk-driving battle

Michigan State Police have deputized a new sort of law enforcement officer in the fight against drunk driving. Talking urinal cakes are now in residence in bars and restaurants around the state.

The cakes have a motion-activated audio track where a lady tells the restroom user, "Hey! Listen up. That's right. I'm talking to you. Had a few drinks? Maybe a few too many. Then do yourself and everyone else a favor. Call a sober friend or a cab. Oh, and don't forget. Wash your hands."

"Not only do we want to turn some heads and get people talking, we hope everyone takes the message to heart," said Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, in a statement about the project.… Read more

Lollipop Chainsaw cuts through normal video game stereotypes

Last summer's Shadows of the Damned was an overlooked triumph that excelled on multiple levels. Its style, humor, campy storyline, and overall originality easily made it one of the best games of 2011.

Developer Grasshopper Manufacture and Creative Director Suda 51 are back, once again challenging mainstream gaming archetypes by approaching things from a quirky and unique against-the-grain mentality. Lollipop Chainsaw also introduces a collaboration with filmmaker James Gunn ("Slither," "Dawn of the Dead" remake), that results in arguably the offbeat developer's most approachable game yet.

Lollipop Chainsaw might not have the best graphics and it's definitely a bit rough around the edges, but it's a welcome change of pace that instills some confidence in the gamer who is bored with cookie-cutter gaming stereotypes. … Read more

Guitar Pee urinal: Be a bathroom rock god

When you gotta go, you gotta go. Sometimes, when you gotta go, you get to make beautiful music using an electric guitar urinal.

Guys need incentive to aim into the bowl, especially after a long night at the bar. Billboard Brasil created the Guitar Pee, an electric guitar/amplifier/urinal, to tour around Sao Paulo drinking establishments.

Here's the process. Drink a lot. Run to the restroom as the "Under Pressure" bass riff plays in your mind. Discover a guitar/urinal. Whiz on it to trigger some shredding electric guitar solos that would fit right in on a glam metal album. … Read more

Urinal games give whizzes a new aim

Isn't it a bummer when urinal time interferes with game time? It can really interrupt the gaming flow, am I right, guys?

Fortunately, U.K.-based Captive Media has combined pee time and play time with urinal games controlled by, you guessed it, your own very personal game-whiz skills.

The system--patented in the U.K., with patents pending overseas--consists of a 12-inch high-definition LCD screen installed at eye level above the urinal.

When not in active use, the system plays a mixture of ads and content from one of six "PTV" channels. When a user approaches, the monitor flips from ad mode to gaming mode, using sensors to detect not only the urinator's presence, but the direction of his stream.

Just move left or right to demonstrate your gaming (and aiming) prowess in titles like On the Piste, in which you speed through the (presumably yellow) snowy mountains on a supercharged snowmobile, and Clever Dick, a wicked pisser of a trivia game. As the Telegraph rightly points out, "Never has Nintendo Wii sounded more apt." … Read more

The 404 867: Where we may not have time (podcast)

Today we're talking about a study from address book site Plaxo that claims 19 percent of people have accidentally let their phones slip into the toilet. We also chat about Captain America: The First Avenger, Super 8, Amy Winehouse, and the role of Modern Warfare 2 and World of Warcraft in this weekend's violence in Oslo.

The 404 Digest for Episode 867

Oslo terrorist used Modern Warfare 2 for training, WoW as cover. Study: 19 percent of people drop phones in toilet. Facebook's iPad app is hidden inside of their iPhone app.

Episode 867 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Go-Guy pocket urinal solves a wee problem

Yesterday's story on the Pollee urinal for women stirred up plenty of interest. Now here's one just for the fellas. Ladies, you can go ahead and move along to the next post.

Go-Guy from U-R-IN-Control is a pocket urinal. The device consists of a plastic bag filled with superabsorbent polymer crystals. Open it up, relieve yourself into it, and let it solidify. Seal it up and dispose.

The whole thing comes in a small package that would easily fit in a pocket. A wet wipe is included for cleanup.… Read more

Pee whiz! Pollee, a urinal just for the ladies

I saw an electronic toilet seat on sale at Costco the other day that made me think about advances in toilet technology. That's not a topic most people spend any time contemplating.

Copenhagen, Denmark's culture design agency UiWE has dedicated plenty of time to the topic with its PeeBetter project. As the name might lead you to believe, it's all about figuring out better ways for people to pee in public spaces.

Follow me here. So far, the big triumph of the PeeBetter project is Pollee, a prototype urinal for the gals. It debuted this summer at the massive annual Roskilde music festival, where notoriously long bathroom lines have held up women for hours.

UiWE says it best: "Pollee is an open air, touch-free urinal made for a semi-squat position." It can handle four women at a time compared with a traditional toilet's inefficient quantity of one. It also features the clean, rounded lines of contemporary Danish design.… Read more