My first version was ill-received because it did not cater to both sexes.

I propose incorporating a timer into the now commonplace automatically flushing toilets. If a user is seated (or hovering) for a certain amount of time, a light is triggered on the bathroom door indicating the possibility of funk inside. The light will stay on for a few minutes (probably longer in mens rooms, we're nasty creatures, and our guts stink) after the user departs.

As I stated in my first version, I'm not looking for a foolproof system to say someone just made mooky-stink in the loo, I would just like a warning that the public restroom I am about to enter may be rank.
-- bleh, May 23 2007

This should do it Negative_20Air_20Toilet
A simpler mitigating solution [twitch, May 25 2007]

And this is your contribution to the betterment of mankind?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 23 2007


people have made less contribution.
-- po, May 23 2007


Yes, but not with a version number.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 23 2007


WARNING: The public restroom you are about to enter may be rank.

That seems to be a given, really.

It would be a lot more creative to wire a programmable sound detector to the warning sign, or hook up a methane detector or VOC meter. A timer is easy, and not selective in any way. [ ]
-- baconbrain, May 23 2007


how many versions did einstein or darwin have?
-- po, May 23 2007


I don't think there was a "Photoelectric Effect 2.0", nor even a "The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms" 2.0
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 23 2007


should there have been?

you have a problem with 2?

I think second thoughts are often the most profound.
-- po, May 23 2007


No. And this is, I believe, the point.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 23 2007


I think bleh has been around long enough to decide if a .2 version is appropriate. If that's o.k with you MB?
-- po, May 23 2007


//I think second thoughts are often the most profound.//

Or far less profound but much more clear.
-- nuclear hobo, May 23 2007


let me waffle on as though I know what I'm talking about...
-- po, May 23 2007


Sure - what harm can there be in another few years?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 23 2007


Thanks for sticking up for me <po>, if thats what you're doing. Does this satisfy your "not taking care of the ladies" complaint from version 1.0?

p.s. what is HB procedure, do i add a version 1.0 to the first idea or leave it as is?
-- bleh, May 24 2007


//WARNING: The public restroom you are about to enter may be rank.

That seems to be a given, really.//

Ok that is a given... maybe i should have said

"WARNING: the public restroom you are about to enter may be *freshly* rank"
-- bleh, May 24 2007


[bleh]'s blinking "bleurgh" beacon: bun.

re. HB procedure, I would have thought you could have battled on with the original idea, changing it as necessary (and maybe marking the changes with [edit] or <edit> or something) - this one is more of a 1.1 than a 2.0, Shirley?
-- pertinax, May 24 2007


I thought about the 1.1 thing. maybe i'll change it. I'm gonna think on it a bit longer.
-- bleh, May 24 2007


This could be an array of colors, like green-yellow-orange-red, with red being the most "dangerous".
-- phundug, May 24 2007


changed from 2.0 to 1.1
-- bleh, May 25 2007


Congratulations; you're back to par! So this must be your contribution to the non-deterioration of mankind.
-- pertinax, May 25 2007


I think it should be 1.2 anyway. 1.1 is assumed for the first version isn't it?

I may be wrong about that, anyway I like a stink-o-meter. Can we make one for the private sector? Might save new couples a lot of embarassment.
-- ColonelMuffins, May 25 2007


Well [Colonel], that depends: in the open-source world, driven by technicians, people tend to start from 0.0; in the closed-source world, driven by marketing, people tend to start with the highest number they can get away with, to create the illusion of a well-established, reliable technology even before the first code-monkey has hit 'Compile'.

Also, [bleh], sp. ill-received ('I' before 'E' *except* after 'C', and all that).
-- pertinax, May 25 2007


My negative air toilet should do the trick. It's not an early warning system, it takes care of the smell itself!
-- twitch, May 25 2007


sp fixed [pert] thanks.

I always the first version was 1.0 with the next minor improvement garnishing a 1.1 and so on until the next *major* improvement garnishing a ver. 2.0
-- bleh, May 25 2007


This idea in general i suppose is too practical for this venue. It doesn't require complex sensors that aren't already in place. It works without quantum mechanics (although Schrödinger's public toilet has a certain appeal) or any sort of explosives. Its just a simple warning for those who need to go. I envisioned it being primarily implemented in single stall restrooms which the only seat may still be warm and the room would reek of freshly deposited dung.
-- bleh, May 25 2007


First of all, no one WANTS to use a public restroom unless they really have to. Usually, it's because you can't wait until you get somewhere else, so you are going in regardless of cleanliness, smell, or a waiting line, so a warning wouldn't really matter much.
On the other hand, restrooms in places like big Casinos or fancy restaurants are usually nicer than ones' own home bathroom, so those are good to use.
-- xandram, May 25 2007


I can tell you from painful experience that women's innards don't smell any better than men's, nor are they any more or less adept at hitting the hole. Don't ask why, I don't know.
-- elhigh, May 31 2007



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