Admit it, you really want to know How Toilets Work. Although I must admit that the vacuum toilet with the teflon bowl is a current fave...do they sell these to non-airline customers???

Some more spontaneous toilet topics: On a trip to Europe this year I visited the airport men's facilities and found that the urinal had a black fly tatooed into the porcelain of the urinal. I think it must be placed at the optimal "flow" spot and thus the handy target.

In Germany there was a toilet without any visible sign of motion or heat sensor, yet after you finished peeing it flushed automatically. My only guess is that they have temperature sensors in the bowl and upon a momentary increase in temperature and subsequent decrease they activate the flush mechanism. Alternately I suppose they could have had the sensor in a roofing panel, since I never did think to look up.

And speaking of sensors (non-toilet this time) there's a company that sells a motion activated sprinkler for installation around your fish pond. Some pesky heron comes in to poach a few fingerlings and the noisy sprinkler springs into action. Check it out at ScatMat. They even sell something to ward off those pesky kangaroos!

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