Gizmodo: loo

Shuttle to Repair ISS Toilet, Save the Day

Kit Eaton — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:30:00 EDT

It must be a relief for the ISS crew to hear that their malfunctioning toilet will get some urgently-needed repairs next week, now that Discovery will be whizzing a new pump aloft. The dodgy loo has been unable to deal with liquid waste, and repair attempts failed. So NASA has cleared Discovery to fly on Saturday with a 13kg replacement pump, even though it means leaving other stuff behind. "Having a working toilet is a priority for us," said Scott Higginbotham~~Higginbottom~~, in charge of shuttle payloads. The Russian-made pump was even give special treatment: it was flown in a diplomatic pouch from Russia. Clearly when spacemen need to go, they need to go... [New Scientist]

Vertebrae Bathroom the $20,000 Kit for Mile-High Club Enthusiasts

AddyDugdale — Thu, 22 May 2008 05:50:00 EDT

This is the Vertebrae, a vertical bathroom with everything you need inside it. Let's take it from the top, shall we? Shower, kids' shower, toilet cistern, storage space, sink, can, bog brush cupboard. See the full video tour of the $20,000 glorified aircraft bathroom after the jump.

There's probably a Loolander "Loo Steel" joke there somewhere, but I can't be bothered. [Pocket-Lint and Design Odyssey]

Urinals Coming to Airplanes, Beware the Golden Shower Turbulence

AddyDugdale — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:15:00 EDT

This is a pic of the urinals at Stockholm's Arlanda airport, courtesy of urinal.net, but if a German design company has its way, pissoirs will soon be a feature of passenger jets. Dassler Interiors has designed one-man urinals designed to stand alongside (sorry) the existing cubicle toilets on planes—let's just hope that they come with doors.

Although similar installations already exist on military aircraft, this will be the first time urinals will be available on commercial flights. As well as using less water than conventional sit-and-flush toilets, the urinals could lead to separate loos for men and women—which can only be a good thing, as my experience as a frequent flyer on the Madrid—London Gatwick route attests.

Norbert Runn, Dassler's head of Business Development, expects the urinals to go in economy class, where the majority of passengers are men. He declined to say which airlines were considering the move, but the urinals, which take up less space than the current cubicles, could well be fitted on Boeing 747s and the 380 Airbus. [Telegraph]

The Loo Read Helps You Concentrate on the Task at Hand

Jason Chen — Fri, 25 May 2007 12:19:51 EDT

Although we don't usually read the newspaper on the crapper, this Loo Read is a fantastic idea for people who do. It's an extendible shelf that gives you a sturdy platform for reading papers or books, and can even sustain your arm for writing if you don't push down too hard.

Hopefully these things are strong enough to support lightweight laptops—though it doesn't seem like they are—so we may have to stick to playing with our Pokeballs while we're on the toilet. What? We're talking about the new DS game. – Jason Chen

Product page [LazyBoneUK via Nerd Approved]