Here is a funny product, the purpose of which I don’t really understand (other than to flush $299 down the toilet): The Fish n’ Flush Aquarium. Marketed by fishnflush.com, this doodad of a toilet has the water tank in the form of an aquarium. Here is an image of the product.
The marketing guys at this company must have had a hard time trying to sell these toilets to people. Here is how they try to promote it on their website:
I don’t understand how having a fish tank wrapped around your toilet tank is going to “maximize space”. May be it means that you can now move your fish tank from the living room to the toilet and save some space in the living room. Those who are interested in observing your pretty fishes will have to compulsorily visit the restroom and try to peer from across the pot….ewww. Also, the “entertainment” and “excitement” …of all the places in the house, why would you want the toilet to be entertaining and exciting? I agree with the “conversation piece” stuff…it will surely make you famous as the village-idiot who has too much money to spend on toilets.
I also have some technical conceptual issues with the design. Below this paragraph is a schematic of a busy person in the restroom. Now with the current design, the damn aquarium goes behind the person’s back….OK..so even if it’s entertaining, it’s not going to provide the entertainment when most needed (unless they also come up with an innovative style of sitting) and obviously lacks ergonomic considerations :). There are cases in which a person may be looking towards the aquarium (opposite to the line of sight shown in the image)…but then he would be standing and the tank would need to be at about 5 feet height. 
Also, when the toilet is in use, the lid goes up (duh!) and partially covers the aquarium. So what’s the message here? look at the aquarium when the toilet is not in use? So you expect people to go to the restroom, sit on the seat with the lid down and turn their faces towards the aquarium for the “entertainment” and “excitement”?…yeah sounds like fun.
The product is mentioned in a small article on this website. An excerpt from the article says this:
The first time people see it, they fear the fish are going down the drain along with everything else. While it was designed as a fish tank, Reel says you can put other things in here, too. “If you don’t want fish, if you want to make it for scorpions, snakes, lizards…”
Dude…this is going too far. Scorpions, snakes, and lizards behind your back when you are in action !? That’s a sure ticket to some long term constipation for anyone who visits your restroom…may be that’s the “excitement” they talk about in their promotion
All this “excitement” doesn’t come cheap at $299. Below is a screen shot of the price listing for the product which also mentions about some fancy “LED light system” for an additional $25. I am not sure exactly what they want to accentuate with the LED lights:
So go ahead, buy the toilet if you like…or might as well just do something like this:
[Image sources: www.fishnflush.com, www.birdsinthebelfry.com, www.carsonmania.com]
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OMG That is SO FUNNY! Bravo Goldbguru, great post — I always wanted a wall fish tank like what you see in James Bond movies. But it would cost thousands! But this product is such a novelty. I’m sure there’s something attractive about it to a few people who have money to burn. I don’t though! Did you just update your site look? It’s quite slick.
Golb Guru,
This is a great post. I laughed so hard that I had tears coming out of my eyes. The line of sight drawing was hilarious. This ranks up there with the DilbertBlog posts — no, this was better.
Keep them coming.
Great post! And you are so right about flushing money down the toilet! Think about if you had toddlers, they would be CONSTANTLY flushing the toilet to make the fish go down the drain!
The Digerati Life: yes I did update the blog…just a few minor changes though…I am glad you like it better this way
I hope these guys don’t sue me 
Super Saver:
Missy: yeah you are right…that is another point. I missed that one. Plus..kids will get used to facing the tank when they use the toilet…that will creat more problems later on.
This would bring me more enjoyment than a PS3.
Good one! What next? This - http://www.porcelainpoetry.faketrix.com/funny-toilets-comedy-humor-picture-6-computer-addict-toilet.htm? Or this - http://www.porcelainpoetry.faketrix.com/funny-toilets-comedy-humor-picture-9-harley-davidson-toilet-scooter.htm?
I have seen many other items during my stay in US which deserve separate posts like these
What the heck is a $999 jacket or a $499 shoe good for?
Love the post, was laughing throughout.
At least the fish are in a see-through tank on the back and not in see-through around the bottom “business end” of the toilet. Then you’d be looking down on them as you…
Poor fish
[...] And of course, no personal finance blog feels complete without a story or two about the $299 aquarium toilet. If you just went WHAT???!!! you’ve got to check out How To Flush $299 Down The Toilet by Golbguru on Money, Matter, and More Musings. The post does a great job of taking the bizarre gizmo and wrapping it into a laugh-out-loud-funny post on a financial blog! [...]
actually, it would be interesting to know if some readers thought this was a viable piece of art for the washroom. think outside the tank? maybe. while it is odd to see fish in a toilet tank - it makes for an interesting aquatic theme in a bath/washroom provided the rest of the decor flowed with it. no…not good for the kiddies though. eventually they’d learn the fish can’t be flushed….and something peaceful to watch while bathing…some might prefer the tank up on a counter or in the wall but hey a tank is a tank is a tank. some toilets don’t have lids on them so nothing really wrong with taking the lid off this one.
LOL!!
Your article about this crazy stuff is awesome XD … The idea of this Fish ‘n Flush is somewhat sick in my opinion…. I might translate your writings about this into hungarian for my friends….of course if you don’t mind… and link to here would be added too.
Keep up the great topics
Qvi
Qvi: Sure, I would like to see this translated into Hungarian.
- as long as you provide a link back. If you want, you could pick up the images too - again, as long as you provide a link to the originals. 
HI!
I’ll translate this for a Hungarian aquarist-club if I’ll get a topic for it. And ofcourse I’ll put the link to the original article -I asked you, because I don’t want to steal anyones idea/article-
Thank you again for your permission
Keep up the nice articles!
Qvi
ps: I also will leave a message here with the Hungarian article/translation if it will be done
This was a totally hysterical posting. It made me want to buy the toilet. The only thing you didn’t cover was, how is somebody supposed to clean the aquarium? With a toilet brush?
Truly a tropical, treasure trove of a toilet! A new meaning to “wasting away” in Margaritaville. Scorpions and lizards and snakes, oh my! Wonder if it comes with Crappie? I’m jus’ sayin…….
Your article is so unnecessarily negative. This is a fun idea, and one that many people will find interesting and expressive. You had to try so so hard to rag on it, and still it was lame. Fail, as the kids say these days.
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