[Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
T. Joseph Carter
tjosephcarter at gmail.com
Sat Jan 12 23:45:24 CST 2008
25 cents per use. And for that price you get a maximum of 12 squares of
TP (to be eco-friendly!) and ... 14 gallons of water?! Oh well, so much
for the environment.
On Sat, Jan 12, 2008 at 07:48:44PM -0800, Gloria Whipple wrote:
> I wonder
> if they will charge anyone for the use of the toilet!
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:49 AM
> To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>
> Waaaaait a minute here. Let's curb our indignation for a moment and use our
> noodles. What is one of the greatest complaints many (especially
> females) have about public restrooms? Lack of cleanliness. So everything is
> disinfected (whether this really works is, perhaps, another story).
> And we don't want people touching anything (except, of course,
> ourselves) so there's an incentive to have pushbuttons. And automatic doors
> are a consequence of those with mobility impairments asking for
> accessibility. Yes, the thing will probably be a pain for us, the blind.
> And yes, it probably costs more than it ought. But there *is* rationality
> behind many of the features.
>
> Mike
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Constance Canode
> To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 9:50 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
>
>
> I wouldn't look at this stupid contraption if they paid me the
> quarter! What a waste of good financial resources. When I think of
> all of the good that money could have done, it really makes my blood
> boil. Disgusting, disgusting.
>
> Connie Canode
> At 08:50 AM 1/12/2008, you wrote:
> >I imagine that we could use this ridiculous contraption. I mean,
> who's going
> >to be in the bathroom for fifteen minutes, and someone could tell us
> about
> >which button is which beforehand, but this is just astounding on what
> some
> >people will design.
> >David
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
> >To: "Multiple recipients of NFBnet Blind-Talk Mailing List"
> ><BlindTlk at nfbnet.org>; <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> >Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:38 AM
> >Subject: [Blindtlk] technological toilet, this is for real!
> >
> >
> >Okay, just another device that's going to be user unfriendly to the
> blind.
> >
> >Sherri
> >Subject: Technology?
> >
> >FACILITIES REVIEW. Greetings, Earthlings.
> >Your New Restroom Is Ready.. NY Times Metropolitan Desk2008-01-11
> >By MICHAEL WILSON. When New York City's open-armed embrace
> >of tourists finally extends beyond the boundaries of Earth to
> creatures from
> >outer
> >space, these visitors will find themselves right at home in Madison
> Square
> >Park's
> >sleek, shiny new public toilet.
> >Indeed, the toilet calls to mind not a port-o-let, but rather the
> sort of
> >room one
> >imagines adjoined the personal quarters of Capt. James T. Kirk on the
> >Starship Enterprise.
> >It is a 25-cent journey to the future -- and, almost secondarily, a
> not
> >unpleasant
> >restroom.
> >The restroom was unveiled on Thursday, the first of 20 planned for
> the city
> >after
> >more than 30 years of false starts and frustrations. It faces Madison
> Avenue
> >just
> >north of 23rd Street, and at first glance looks like a bus stop
> shelter.
> >There are two architectural flourishes, both on the roof: a small
> pyramid of
> >glass,
> >like a little model of the Louvre, and an anachronistic metal
> stovepipe,
> >reminiscent
> >of a cozy shanty or an old outhouse with a crescent moon carved into
> the
> >door.
> >But no one goes to a bathroom to look at it. When the green light
> marked
> >'vacant'
> >is lit, 25 cents -- coins only, no bills -- starts the visit.
> >What follows is possibly the longest and most awkward 20 to 30
> seconds of a
> >person's
> >day. The door slips open like an elevator, but then it stays open, to
> >accomm odate
> >those who need extra time getting in. Meanwhile, men and women in
> suits walk
> >past.
> >It is very difficult to look inconspicuous in a bathroom on a
> sidewalk in
> >New York
> >with the door open. There is just nothing to do but stand there. And
> the
> >delay will
> >not please those who are in distress.
> >Finally, the door closes, and the first surprise is the quiet. The
> walls are
> >padded
> >to dampen street noise, leaving just the hum of a little fan
> overhead.
> >Six little lights and the skylight in the pyramid cast a neutral glow
> over
> >the user's
> >home for the next 15 minutes, the maximum time limit.
> >This toilet, which cost more than $100,000, is very spacious, large
> enough
> >to accommodate
> >a wheelchair. One cannot touch the side walls with arms outstretched.
> >The floor is rubber and, more strikingly, very wet, but not in a
> >bus-station-men's-room
> >way. There is an antiseptic, fresh smell to the place.
> >Sadly, these little surprises are forgotten with the first look at
> the
> >toilet itself,
> >an imposing, metal, cold-looking receptacle in the corner. There is
> no
> >little stall
> >around it, and so it looks exposed, like the facilities available in
> many
> >prisons.
> >It, too, is quite damp, for perfectly good reasons explained later,
> but the
> >image
> >first evokes a dungeon or a scene from one of the 'Saw' pictures.
> >There is no seat to raise or lower, just the wide rim of the bowl,
> with
> >covers made
> >of tissue available in a dispenser to the side. Sitting down is a
> leap of
> >faith,
> >like falling backwards into a stranger's arms at a corporate
> team-building
> >retreat.
> >Turns out, it is cold. But once settled, the visitor finds the seat
> the
> >perfect place
> >to take in the room's other amenities.
> >There seem to be as many buttons as on Captain Kirk's bridge. Red
> buttons,
> >blue buttons,
> >yellow buttons, black and green buttons. The red ones near the door
> and
> >toilet call
> >the company for help in an emergency. The yellow calls for
> 'assistance,'
> >presumably
> >something less dire than an emergency, but nonetheless, a situation.
> Blue
> >flushes.
> >Black dispenses toilet paper. One will quickly familiarize oneself
> with that
> >button,
> >because the designers have deigned a little 16-inch strip the
> standard
> >helping of
> >paper. A word to the wise: There is a maximum of just three helpings.
> >Another tip:
> >Do not tarry. A grim yellow light turns on when there are just three
> minutes
> >remaining,
> >and after that, the door will open.
> >The sink is across the room. The big shocker here is the soap
> dispenser,
> >which actually
> >emits not a little squirt of soap, but a jet of warm water, with the
> soap
> >already
> >mixed in. Everything is motion-activated. No knobs anywhere. The
> warm-air
> >hand dryer
> >seems somewhat slow and weak, especially with that yellow light
> blinking by
> >the door.
> >Assuming one finishes before the 15 minutes are up, the big green
> button
> >opens the
> >door. The horns and sirens and chatter of the city return, jarringly.
> >When the visitor steps out, the door shuts again, but the 'occupied'
> light
> >stays
> >lit. Strange hisses and spraying sounds come from within -- did
> someone slip
> >past?
> >No, actually, the room is cleaning itself. A robotic arm swings out
> over the
> >toilet
> >bowl and hits it with disinfectant, while similar jets spray across
> the sink
> >and
> >the floor. Then, dryers fan hot air over everything, but like the
> hand
> >dryer, they
> >seem to need more juice.
> >This is all taken at the designer's word, for it is impossible to
> see. The
> >cleanup
> >cannot happen with someone in the room, with sensors below the floor
> to
> >detect any
> >weight.
> >After 90 seconds of cleaning, the green light outside comes back on.
> Next?
> >. PHOTO: Three officials, Janette Sadik-Khan, Adrian Benepe, center,
> and
> >Daniel L.
> >Doctoroff, consider the city's new toilet. There's no seat to raise,
> just
> >the bowl's
> >wide rim, with covers of tissues to use. (PHOTOGRAPH BY G. PAUL
> BURNETT/THE
> >NEW YORK
> >TIMES) .
> >Sherri
> >
> >sbrun at cfl.rr.com
> >
> >TO DONATE YOUR USED CELL PHONE AND CHANGE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLIND
> IN
> >CENTRAL FLORIDA go to:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Whether we succeed or fail in what we do is not the essential thing.
> >
> >What is important is the heart with which we live our lives.
> >
> >
> >
>
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> >
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> > >
> >
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>
>
>
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