Bike + Toilet = Blog Post

So, at the nexus of two of my favorite things, here is a post collating some of the many posts on the interwebs about bikes and toilets. My definition of bikes seems to float a bit, and though I have to say I prefer bicycles to motorbikes, I suppose I'll accept either if it's intersecting with the toilet.

First up, how about a delightfully designy interior concept for toilet decor that makes you feel like you could hop on and ride off.


Next, check out something that only Japanese technology could inspire: Toto Bike.




Yup. A motorbike engineered by Toto, the fancy Japanese toilet maker, that runs on human waste. Is it for real? It's not clear. But it does have a lot of cool functions, that's got to count for something. You can even follow it on twitter! Though you have to be able to read Japanese, or be dedicated enough to google translate that shit. No pun intended. Well done Toto, you've outdone yourselves.

Here's a nice and dryly informative video from Reuters


And here's a really wonderfully amusing Japanese add for the potty bike. Wow. The guy riding it has a helmet with a sort of white turd on the top. Amazing.


Also, ever had your bicycle seat stolen right off your bike while it's locked up outside a coffee shop? If that's happened to you, then perhaps you should consider this? A new look, and one that thieves will have a harder time making off with.


I will leave you with one other thought, which is that there are a remarkable number of toilet and bicycle related videos on youtube.


And there are also a remarkable number of non-bicycle toilet videos.

Loowatt: Waterless toilet system

Ok so I know it hot right not and all that, but really, taking on and solving sanitation issues in the global south is a really important means of 'development' and a really great way to apply our wealthy stockpiles of innovation.

As one such idea, check out Loowatt, "a revolutionary waterless toilet system that creates local economies around waste treatment.

The toilet uses a unique sealing mechanism to package feces and urine into an odourless cartridge, within a biodegradable lining material. The cartridge is emptied once or twice weekly into an anaerobic digester. The digester converts human waste into natural gas and fertilizer, commodities which pay back the community."

Check out their blog here
And their rocking power point explaining their implementation of the pilot system for this spring in Antananarivo in Madagascar.







Thanks to John K. for sharing Loowatt with me.