How the best toilet would look like?

When it comes to toilets, people are not very pretentious. They don’t really care about the way their toilet looks like, about the color or things like that. Actually, if you think about it, that would be the last straw, for people to start complaining about the toilet and the fact that it doesn’t suit to their needs or preferences. As far as I’m concerned, a toilet should be clean! It should be the cleanest thing ever, I might add, but no more than that.

However, it seems that people are more interested in the design of such a fixture, which leads to all sorts of weird models that you wouldn’t have think of in a million years.

As a consequence, a team of students of the ASU College of Design was given the ultimate recognition during this spring for a unique toilet design concept by the NDI (also known as Northwest Design Invitational). Called Go With the Flo, the toilet was designed by a team led by John Takamura and Dosun Shin, who are members of the College of Design faculty, and Tamara Christensen, respective Dean Bacalzo, who are both students of the Master of Science in Design.

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At first glance, you might think that the toilet is similar with the squat toilets that are so uncomfortable, but, according to the designers, this one is based on yoga principles, helping those who use to work their abdominal and back muscles.

“The Flo toilet is an ergonomic, sustainable design concept for baby boomers that functions like a squat toilet. Designers maintain that using the Flo toilet is akin to yoga – by building and strengthening abdominal and back muscles. Only one-half to one gallon of water is used for flushing and The Flo reuses water from hand washing. To flush water from the tanks to the toilet, the Flo employs an electromagnetic ball valve.”

The best thing about the Flo is that is entirely eco-friendly, as it not depends on electric power whatsoever. I don’t really know if this is how the best toilet would/will look like, but it would be nice for the Flo to hit the mass production someday.

(Source: ASU via coolest-gadgets.com)

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Street scooter powered by pedals

Whenever I get to see strange products I ask myself how in earth the designer managed to come up with such ideas, because it’s very difficult to bring something new in the spotlight, especially nowadays, when we have the impression that there is nothing left to be invented anymore. But I’m proved wrong each and every time I run into products that are said to be “the world’s first…” by their manufacturers.

Just like the Pumgo, a scooter which is, according to its designer, of course, the world’s first pedal-powered street scooter. Now let’s see what the Pumgo is able to do. First of all, it is provided with two reciprocal pedals that powers the scooter, being somehow similar to the up and down motion a person does when exercising on a stair-climber machine. On the other hand, having the frame made of an alloy of strong aluminum, it is able to support heavier body weights, which means it’s not aimed at children only, but also at adults. Not to mention the fact that the three wheels make this street scooter a whole lot more stable and, of course, safer.

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Another advantage of the Pumgo is that you can also enjoy the health benefits it implies, benefits that are related to the cardiovascular workout. These benefits were developed by Dr. Dan Batchelder from Atlanta, specialized in sports medicine. He said that: “Bowling, golf, push scooter riding and skateboarding only work one side of the body, leading to power back pain and muscle imbalance”. In addition, he mentioned that “the Pumgo Scooter, however, is a symmetrical exercise designed to strengthen both sides of the body. Additionally, the Pumgo Scooter delivers a faster, more efficient workout than running or biking”.

If you’re as impressed as I am, then you’d most probably like to know how much it costs. Well… $300. From Pumgo.

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Tiny wireless keyboard with trackball from Brando

I love to travel so very much and if I could (but unfortunately I can’t), I would go each week to other country. I’m fascinated by culture and civilization and I strongly believe that knowledge can only be achieved by going from place to place and by knowing as many places and people as possible. It’s sad that we don’t always have the time for a vacation and we very often lack the financial means.

But if you also like to travel and you do have the time and the means, here we have something for you, just in case you’re a workaholic and you can’t resist the temptation of spending your vacation surrounded by keyboards, mice, wires and so on.

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Brando has always taken care of those who are traveling on a regular basis, so you shouldn’t be surprised that they’re now offering a brand new wireless keyboard with trackball, which is small enough to be carried around.

The USB 2.4GHz RF Wireless Tiny Keyboard with Trackball (too long for it to be remembered) comes with 56 keys, 29 hotkeys, integrated optical trackball and scroll wheel, an operating distance of no more than 10 meters, operating frequency of 2.4GHz radio frequency, the num lock change function and support for Windows Vista / XP / 2000. The keyboard measure 228 x 90 x 27 millimeters (with approximation) and weighs no more than 220 grams.

The wireless keyboard with trackball costs no more than $55 and can immediately be purchased from Brando.

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Cool pillow sends you to bed in the sound of music

I can’t say that I am one of those who can’t sleep without some music in the background, which I can listen to on the quiet up until lulling asleep. I love music and I am not bothered by its sound no matter what. But I know that some people are accustomed to going to bed with music in their ears, because otherwise they just cannot fall asleep.

And I remember that when I was a little girl I sometimes had the idea to wear a pair of earphones and to try to sleep this way. But every time I tried this, it was a very painful experience which I am not eager to repeat. But I would really like a cool pillow like this one: the Penguin Music Pillow, which can be connected to your PMP (also known as portable media player). This won’t certainly hurt your ears, being much more comfortable.

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Besides the cute design, the device is able to connect to all sorts of external music sources and features a 3.5mm stereo audio connector. The pillow can be purchased from Gadget 4 All for only $14 and there are two other versions of the music pillow: the Panda and the Milk Cow.

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Tiny Ninja wraps your cords

I have never thought that I’m the only one to hate cords and I’m aware of the fact that more and more people are sick and tired with so many wires surrounding their environment. One of the essential reasons that lead to such a situation is that we all love to have as many gadgets in our lives as possible, because we are modern people, and the modern human being must closely follow the technological progress.

So, the more gadgets we purchase, the closer we are to that critical point where everything that has to do with wires will be avoided. But this tiny ninja fellow is here to help you solve the problem. Therefore, the Ninja Smart Cord Wrappers is designed to wrap up all of the nasty cords that you hate so much. The great thing about them is that they come with cute cartoon designs and allows you to shorten the cords at a length that you prefer.

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Another advantage is that the wrappers can be used for all sorts of wires, from headphones cords to others that you could think of and needs to be shortened. They measure 2.32 x 1.14 x 0.2 inches and weigh approximately 0.28 ounces. They are sold in a 2-pack and can be purchased for no more than $1.19, which is a perfect bargain, don’t you think?

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