Teaching Kids To You Know What

This was so cute at buybuy Baby!

Mini toilets to teach the kids to go potty. 

The big pot can probably be scary for a little kid. 

Don't want them to end up falling in and whoosh!  

Ok, not funny!

Seriously though, these little training toilets are cute. 

Honestly, I think there are some adults that need some potty training too. 

Yes, you know who you are!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Teaching Kids To You Know What

Reach Out And Grab Ya

This is a candleholder. 

But in a bizarre way it looks almost like a toilet. 

The place for the candle is the toilet!

Sort of would make a pretty scary toilet in real life if the back of it (ie. tank) has a body with arms that looks like it is reaching out to grab you as you take your royal seat. 

Hey, someone let me out of here!

Ok, I have definitely been shut in too many days due to this Coronavirus thing. 

I am imagining the world's scariest toilets. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Reach Out And Grab Ya

Pool Poop Galore

So I was at the pool going swimming, doing my laps.  

It was very busy there with lots of people of all ages. 

All of a sudden, I hear some screaming. 

Then the guards come over and tell people they have to get out of the pool, pronto!

There's been an accident. 

No, not someone getting hurt.

Someone had a bathroom accident in the pool.

The director of the pool is going around explaining to the inconvenienced swimmers that:

"Someone pooped in the pool."

Not exactly an eloquent way to say it, but it gets the point across. 

What is worse, it was on the side of the pool where the adults were swimming!

Next come the lifeguards with the nets and they are literally scooping swathes of this sh*t out of the pool. 

I see it literally spans almost a half length of this olympic pool. 

What a crappin' mess. 

Luckily I got almost all my swim in--yes, I am dedicated!

And then took a long hot shower with tons and tons of soap. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Pool Poop Galore

Crazy Sink

This crazy water faucet in Florida has no sink basin. 

Where does the water go?

Product design takes a new turn, but the water just dish-appears!  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Crazy Sink

Creative Washing Sign

Ok, this is not your typical handwashing sign.

Usually these signs that are mandated by health regulations in food establishments remind employees to wash their hands before returning to work.

Of course, given all the Clostridium, E. coli, Hepatitis, Listeria, Norovirus, and Salmonella out there, we know that unfortunately many food workers are not following these instructions very well...yes, yuck!

Here, someone "sanitized" the sign, and rubbed out the "h" and the top part of the "d" in hands and left the crude word, "anus." 

Now employees must wash not their hands, but their anus (does that help in food preparation?)!

Perhaps, whoever did this are lobbyists for some sort of bidets in this country. 

Given all the political crap that goes on around this town, this may be a very good idea. ;-)

(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)

Creative Washing Sign

Truly My Love

So this is the graffiti on the wall of the ladies bathroom in Barnes and Noble. 

My wife said to make sure everyone knows that she took the photo and not me (uh, that would be awkward). 

I can't make out all the graffiti on the wall, but the one in the center says:

"True love isn't something made up in stories or books. It exists truly, if you believe truly, and truly fight for it. Real love is magic."

Another one talks about "Gonzales" who is the most beautiful man.

And yet one more...

"I wish I knew how to tell my boyfriend I love him."

Let me just be frank that the Graffiti in men's bathrooms is nothing, nothing like this. 

It's more obscene, uses lots of 4 letter words, and has women's first names and phone numbers. 

Why do women write and profess their love for men on bathroom walls, while men seem to think and express themselves in far more graphic terms--and why do this while in the stinkin' bathroom?

I think this may make for some interesting gender studies for someone out there. 

From a technology perspective, I think if people are going to insist on thinking and fantasizing in the public bathroom, perhaps we need some white boards or monitors that you can write and erase from--that way at least we can make room for the next guy/gal to write their truly's next. ;-)

(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)

Truly My Love

Bathroom Etiquette 101

So I was out and about and needed to go to the bathroom.

I stopped at a local store where I was and asked if I could please use theirs.

They were nice (not all stores are) and said yes. 

Inside the bathroom on the tank was this hilarious sign with a jingle reminding patrons about bathroom etiquette, as follows:

"If you sprinkle [heart] when you tinkle [heart] please be a sweety [heart] and wipe the seaty."

Hey, a reasonable enough request--everyone needs to cooperate on these things. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Bathroom Etiquette 101

Lauding Over A Toilet Brush?

Not sure about this video on the SimpleHuman Toilet Brush

On one hand, it's funny to have such a serious video lauding the functionality and design of a toilet brush.

But on the other hand, the video is pretty darn convincing:

- Slim for easy placement and accessible for quick use. 

- A magnetic collar for picking up the brush and housing with one hand--no messy spills.

- With a stainless steel rod for stability and durability.

- Specially innovative design crescent-shaped brush for those hard to reach areas under the rim.

- Easily detachable brush for when you need replacement. 

- Comes in black and white--so fashionable. 

Ok, so now I have to admit that I ordered one of these today.

I'll let you know if it really works (Uh no!) ;-)

Lauding Over A Toilet Brush?

What Is The World Coming To?

This sign from a business on trendy Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale...for real.

Pay for the water you drink, the air you breath, and the doings you leave behind. 

Money makes the world go round, but what happened to love, friendship, and brotherhood. 

It only goes as far as the restroom apparently! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

What Is The World Coming To?

The Most Troubling Sign

I took this photo outside a bathroom at a local facility around Washington, D.C.

This truly is one of the most troubling signs I think you can find, especially when you have to do your thing. 

Why you can't use the bathroom, even if you say pretty please, I don't know.

But I would say, Mr. Toilet here should put his hands down and let people in--for use and not abuse. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

The Most Troubling Sign

Which Part of "Men's Room" Don't You Understand?

So after my swim, I'm in the men's locker room. 

There are dozens of folks showering and changing. 

All of a sudden in strolls a lady.

First she walks one way through the locker room--looking up and down the aisles.

Then she walks the other way through again--glancing this way and that way. 

The men are looking at each other like what in G-d's name is she doing. 

Some of the men start yelling at her to get out (maybe the others are sort of glad she's there)!

She sort of nods at them, turns unapologetically and strolls back out. 

The men are bantering back and forth now--like what was that all about?  Is she nuts or something?

On the way out of the facility, I stop by the front desk and ask innocently, "Do you know that their is a women walking around the men's locker room?"

One supervisor goes, "Oh, that happens. The men do that too--going into the lady's locker room."

Oh really--is this a professional swim club or a Roman orgy?

The other supervisor, a little more reasonable here, says if someone can point her out, he'll have a talk with her. 

The kid behind the desk says, "Thanks for letting us know."

The funny thing is there is a sign in the locker room that prohibits photos and videos--but, I guess in-person viewing is permissible--good to know. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Which Part of "Men's Room" Don't You Understand?

I Like To Be Clean!

This was funny but in a gross type of way. 

Bathroom doorknobs are notorious for being germy. 

In this case, there was a little bit of tissue paper that someone left on the knob--I know ick!

Apparently someone got fed up with the grossness of this, so they put up a sign--it says:

"I have been here for two weeks. Can you clean me?  It like to be clean!"

But that's not all. 

A day later, the note was gone, but that little piece of grossness was still there. 

Howie Mandel, please help us! ;-)

I Like To Be Clean!

Bathroom Kudos

Going to a restaurant the other night, I stepped into the men's room for a minute and noticed this sticker on the right of the mirror that said "Great Work" in big yellow letters on the red background. 

I wondered what a strange sign to put in such a private setting as if we need applause for going to the bathroom or washing our hands. 

Then again, if you've seen many men's bathrooms, it could certainly be a time for kudos when it is kept clean and people use good personal hygiene--hence, the other sticker on the left, "It's cool to care!"

The frog sticker in the middle, he's just keeping an eye on things and thanking everyone for the job well done. 

This is a funny commentary on our society these days where people seem to need a pat on the back for everything--even the highly mundane and personal. 

Presumably, going to the men's room will never be the same boring, uncaring event again--at least at this fine eating establishment. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Bathroom Kudos

A Little Issue of Trust

When we went to a local DQ and tried to use the restroom, the door was locked. 

Realizing there was no one inside, we went to counter and asked for the key.

The lady behind the counter pulls out this long, heavy chain with this little key on it. 

Apparently, they have had an issue with people walking off with their bathroom key, and they didn't want to trust their key to just any holder. 

But with this mamouth keychain--literally a chain--this was not going to happen to them again. 

Now the problem is what do you do with it when you are in the bathroom? 

Perhaps, this could be a spin on walking and chewing gum at the same time. 

Good luck with this one! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

A Little Issue of Trust

Innovation Echtzing and Krechtzing

It used to be that either you were innovative or not. 

Either you came up with out of the box thinking, new paradigms for doing things, cool new designs, and products and services using the latest and greatest technology--or you would eventually be dead in the marketplace and life. 

Now as things seem to slow down a little on the innovators front--we're echtzing and krechtzing (hemming and hawing) about what is innovation anyway?

The Wall Street Journal (5 October 2012) wrote about "The Innovator's Enigma"--asking whether incremental innovation is real innovation. 

For example, when P&G took the sleepy, drowsy part of the medication of NyQuil and made it into it's own medicine called ZzzQuil--was that innovative or just "incremental, derivative."

The article notes that big periods of explosive upheavals in innovation are often followed by "period of consolidation and then by valuable incremental innovation involving the same product."

It's almost like a lets face it--you can't have the equivalent of the iPhone created every day--or can you?

When after the iPhone, people now ask for an iFighter (WSJ, 24 July 2012) and the real iRobot (like envisioned in the movie with Will Smith)--aren't we talking about applying real breakthrough innovation to every facet of our lives?

With Apple coming forward with the integration model of innovation bringing together hardware and software --the bar has been raised on the expectation for innovation not just being functionally excellent, but design cool. Now, Fast Company states (October 2012), "good design is good business." 

But even then innovation is questioned as to its real meaning and impact with Bloomberg BusinessWeek (2 August 2012) stating that "it's easier to copy than to innovate" and "being inspired by a good product and seeking to make even better products is called competition."

Here's another from Harvard Business Review (April 2012) called "Celebrate Innovation, No Matter Where It Occurs" that calls out "adjacencies" as bona fide innovation too, where an adjacency is exploiting "related and nearby opportunities." since inventions are often so large that "inventor's can't exploit them alone" and there are associated opportunities for other (think of new cool iPhone cases for the new cool iPhone). 

One more thing I learned recently is that innovation isn't just the great new product or service offering, but how you use it. 

With Newsweek (17 September 2012), calling into question the iPhone's "awkward invasion of the lavatory" with "not just phones, but tablets and e-readers and even our laptops" replacing the good 'ol Reader's Digest in the bathrooms around the world, then things have truly changed deep culturally and not just superficially technologically. 

This message was brought home last year, when a friend told me how they dropped their iPhone in the toilet leading to a speedy drowning death for the smartphone, now not looking too smart anymore. 

So innovation come in all shapes and sizes and can be mega big, incremental small, derivative, or even adjacent--the important thing is that we keep our thinking caps on and working towards better, faster, and cheaper all the time. 

Sometimes, I do look back and miss things or ways of doing them from the past, so innovation isn't always--just by definition--a good thing, but what we really come up with and how we apply it perhaps can make all the difference.  

The perfect example for me is carving out some genuine space and quiet time to really think about life and innovate in what has become a 24/7 now always-on society that demands innovation but that often squashes it with incessant noise. 

Turn down the noise, let innovation thrive afresh, and be sure you make a genuine difference, and whatever type it is that it is not just as they would say in Hebrew school more dreck (junk) or another narrishkeit (foolishness) in the making.

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Innovation Echtzing and Krechtzing

Howie Mandel Was Right All Along

This was a really funny picture I saw exhorting people to wash their hands. 

If you don't, this little green slime creature is going to come and get you.

It reminded me of the other day heading into the bathroom, and I see this guy coming the other way out of one of the Stalls. 

He actually does head to the sink to the wash his hands--he's in the minority in this country, I understand. 

Well the sink is one of the automatic ones and has no faucets.

The guy sticks his hands underneath....nothing. 

He starts waving his (dirty) hands...and still nothing.

After the third try...he throws his hands up, looks at me, and says, "Now that's awkward" and proceeds to walk out the bathroom holding his hands literally at full arms length. 

I hoped that he didn't run into anyone he knows on the way and reached out to shake their hands--because they would've gotten a nasty surprise, indeed. 

This sign tells it the way it is--sorry folks. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Howie Mandel Was Right All Along