Thermochromic Toilet Seat

Thermochromic Toilet Seat

Design: Plusminus (Peter Crnokrak)
Date: 2003
Manufacturer: Self-manufacture

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“Being able to identify a public toilet seat that has just been sat upon (and is thus still warm) is of particular concern to a significant number of the population. Without warning, one can easily sit upon a seat and be instantly repulsed by the trace evidence of a previous user. Conversely, if one is looking for intimate contact with an anonymous stranger without the associated awkwardness of verbal discourse, one could seek out the warm toilet seat. The decision to sit or not to sit is facilitated by the colour change of the seat: orange=cool, yellow=hot. The object retains the heat memory of a previous user and displays it as a visual marker for the next user to assess.” (plusminus website)

An excellent piece of product design from expat graphic designer Peter Crnokrak.

-John Ryan

I can relate to this story

Man Commits Crime to Escape Nagging Wife

A man from Shanghai has been constantly blamed and harassed by his wife for not making enough money. He finally decided to rob people just so he could go to jail and avoid his wife’s nagging abuse.

29 year-old Linghua Wong works as a technician. He and his wife XiaoFeng have been married for nine years and have one daughter. Everyone knows Wong is a good father and husband, but his wife is not happy that he’s making so little money, and so she verbally abusing him by calling him names and making fun of him.

At first, he tried not going home to avoid his wife’s nagging but that didn’t work. Finally, he just couldn’t take it anymore. He walked in to the police station and lied that he robbed someone and ask to be taken to the jail. The police did not believe his story and refused to arrest him, so he decided to rob someone for real.

He pointed a toy gun at a taxi driver, told him that he’s a fugitive and demanded the driver’s money. The driver then screamed, which scared Wong away.

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After his failed attempt, he tried again with a young couple. The young couple turned out their pockets and showed they had no real money. Wong desperately turned to a woman who was passing by and the woman replied calmly, “You can shoot me, but I only got 3 bucks”.

Wong, frustrated with failure, gave up, but was soon arrested for his many attempts.

“I intentionally kept doing this because that gives me enough evidence to be arrested so I can go to jail and not have to face my wife again.”

Wong is so afraid of his wife he cannot even ask for a divorce. Instead he chose to break the law and go to jail.

He was sentenced to four years for intentional robbery, but at least he is finally free from his wife.

In China, Shanghai men are well known as “Pa Lao Po”, which means “afraid of wives”. Shanghai women are the dominant ones in the family.