gizmos

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]

6786 Miles Per Gallon

First about the car that does 6786 miles per gallon (oh yeah !!). This record was set by the “Microjoule”, an ethanol-powered car for the 2006 Shell eco-marathon. The image of the car is shown below. If you are thinking “Oh yeah, it’s ethanol..gasoline will never give that much” then read on.

The record for a gasoline (petrol)-powered vehicle in the eco-marathon was not far behind at 6009 miles per gallon (my Nissan does 23 miles per gallon). There are some more extraordinary numbers from the eco-marathon on this website.

Now, look at the image below:

Hey, that looks like some toy car race,doesn’t it? ..Oh yeah, it’s just that some of these toys are doing 6000 miles per gallon :). That’s an image from the 2006 Shell eco-marathon race.

Other Awesome Vehicles

TIME magazine recently published the best inventions list in it’s November issue. The list spans categories like: transportation, home equipment, clothing, toys, medicine, etc. Here are some vehicles from the list. I would have liked to put in my own text, but TIME does an excellent job at describing these things and I will just stick to quoting them where appropriate.

1. H-racer, the hydrogen powered toy car

…Shanghai-based Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies decided to design and market the H-racer, a 6-in.-long toy car that does what Detroit still can’t. It runs on hydrogen extracted from plain tap water using the solar-powered Hydrogen Station, below, and can travel more than 300 ft. in a single fuel-up…

Horizon Fuel Cell is selling it under the title “H-racer and Hydrogen Station” for $115. My engineering insticts are almost compelling me to buy this toy. Scroll to the end to see how the hydrogen concept is being put into some practical use by Honda and Chevy.
2. Tesla Roadster, the all electric sports car

…What goes from zero to 60 in 4 sec., tops out at more than 130 m.p.h. and appears to be missing a gas tank? The Tesla Roadster 100. It’s pure California: a hot sports car that doubles as a statement against pollution and oil dependence…

This thing looks hot..almost like a Ferrari and is not a toy like the H-racer above. From the information on Tesla’s website, this car charges in about 3.5 hours on a home-based charging system. The website claims that they are out-of-stock for 2007 model year units, but puts the tag on the 2008 model at $92,000. Here is a another screenshot of what the website says about the Tesla Roadster:

3. The Compact Low Emission VEhicle for uRban transport (CLEVER)

…the low-emission Clever car runs on compressed natural gas stored in two cylinders behind the passenger’s seat and gets a dizzying 108 m.p.g. The three-wheeled, aluminum-framed Clever turns like a dream thanks to computer-controlled cornering and hydraulics. And even though its engine is good for the earth, this two-seater has plenty of pep; it can cruise at speeds up to 80 m.p.h.

CLEVER is a joint project between some French, British, and German engineering firms (including BMW) and universities. The aim of this project is to design an innovative urban transport vehicle to fit certain power, weight and fuel emissions specifications. It has an awesome tilting system (based on how motorcycles tilt while cornering) to keep it from rolling over on turns and corners. CLEVER is not yet for sale in the open market. Click here to read more about the CLEVER project.

4. The “Supermileage” Project Car

…A team of Canadian engineering students won the annual Supermileage race in Michigan with its 80-lb. carbon-fiber Mark V, which can travel 3,145 miles on a single gallon of gas. That’s thanks to details like a curved underbody, an ultra-fuel-efficient 54-cc engine and a driver who understands why the turtle beat the hare. The catch? You have to drive lying down, and the windows don’t open.

Here is an image of a driver dude in the “driving” position in this car.

The project is an initiative of The University of British Columbia Supermileage Team. Click here to learn more about the Supermileage project.

Below are a couple of cars that deserve a mention, though they are not on the TIME list. They are a reflection of what the automobile industry has in store for us in the next few years.
5. The Honda FCX Concept.

The FCX concept vehicle made it’s public debut during the 2006 LA auto show (which, by the way, is ending today - Dec 10th). The FCX is based on hydrogen fuel cell technology and though it’s still a “concept”, Honda is expected to roll out a fully functional fleet by 2008 for US. It is rumored that the production version will not differ much from the concept design. Sweet…I would like to drive something like that.
6. The Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell

Generally, Chevy doesn’t rhyme with “awesome cars”, but this stuff is cool. It’s the Fuel Cell Chevy Equinox based on the Chevy Sequel hydrogen fuel cell concept that recently generated a lot of interest. This Equinox is just around the corner..perhaps available to the general public in early 2008. Read more about it here.

Check if you are eligible for test driving a hydrogen powered Chevy Equinox. Chevy says this on it’s website:

If you live in metropolitan New York City; Washington, D.C.; or southern California, you may be eligible to test-drive an Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle in the fall of 2007. You must be 21 years of age, a U.S. citizen and have a valid driver’s license.