Technabob » poop

Ecobot III Robot Runs on Waste, Poops Itself

Conner Flynn — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:00:05 +0000

Batteries suck. You have to have the right kind for your device, they have to be charged and they are prone to failure way too often. Forget batteries. What we need is a robot that can generate power by eating leaves and dirt, maybe even urine and feces, since humanity has those in spades.

The Ecobot-III does just that, plus it can poop itself. So, that’s more poop for the planet. Ecobot-I had an E. Coli engine that ran on refined sugar and Ecobot-II had sludge microbe engine that ate stuff like dead flies and prawn shells. The only problem was that they could not eject waste. They just kept cramming in new batteries until there was no room. You might say they became the world’s first constipated robots.

This third version can collect its own food and water and poop in a litter tray, which should prolong it’s life, but I guess someone has to change that tray now and again like changing a diaper. Ecobot is being funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who, coincidentally have also invested in the creation of some shiny new toilets.

[via Scientific American via Geekosystem]

Panda Poop Tea: Ridiculously Expensive and Loaded with Crap

Hazel Chua — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:30 +0000

The appeal of poop is in the eye of the beholder – after considering, of course, where it came from. For example, you wouldn’t willingly drink something that had something to do with human poop, but you might drink some tea that’s been fertilized with panda poop, right? Or not.

If you’re open to the idea, though, then you might be interested in this bit of news. There’s this Chinese entrepreneur named Yanshi An, who will be selling tea fertilized with panda poop very, very soon. The notable thing is that he used to be a teacher of calligraphy at Sichuan University.

He recently bought over eleven tons of excrement from a panda-breeding center to use on his tea, which he hopes to harvest this coming spring. And he’s extremely excited about his Panda poop tea project, too. That’s probably because of the price. A kilo (about 2.2 pounds) of the tea is projected to be priced at more than US$77,000, but that’s only for the first batch. Future batches will be priced lower at around $3,000, since they’re considered to be a more “inferior” batch, as the poop won’t be as fresh anymore (but then, it really is panda poop ever really “fresh?”)

An insists it’s not all about just the money though, as he says that his main mission lies more along the lines of environmental protection by replacing chemical fertilizers with natural ones. He says: “Panda dung is rich in nutrients… and should be much better than chemical fertilizers. People should make a harmonious relationship between Tea heaven, earth and the environment. Everybody has an obligation to protect the environment.”

[via Weird Asia News]

Man Tries to Turn Poop to Gold, Burns Down an Apartment Block in the Process

Hazel Chua — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:00:50 +0000

Now who hasn’t dreamed of having the Midas touch, and possessing the ability to turn whatever they touched into gold? Obviously, there are a lot of downsides to it (like you could accidentally turn the people you love into, well, solid gold), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t individuals who won’t resort to crazy things in order to turn stuff into gold. Individuals like Paul Moran, that is.

Stock Photo: Not the Actual Apartment Burnt Down by Flaming Poo

The price of gold has been rising pretty steadily over the past few months. And for those people who are down on their luck or in dire need of money, nothing is impossible. For example, Moran actually thought that it was possible to turn his own poop into gold by putting into an electric heater. All I can say is, if that were all it took to turn human waste into gold then everyone would be trying to poop their heads off – but they aren’t, for a reason: because it’s gross, it doesn’t work, and it can burn down your entire apartment block, which was what happened in Moran’s case.

Unfortunately for him, a judge wasn’t too impressed with his poop-to-gold experiment and has sentenced him to serve three months in jail.

[Belfast Telegraph via HuffPo via Dvice]

Robot Programmed to Pick Up Poop: It’s Sh*t Like This That Will Bring Skynet on Our Asses

Lambert Varias — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:00:50 +0000

The nerds at the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Laboratory seem to be fond of acronyms. As you may have guessed, GRASP itself is an acronym for General Robotics, Automation, Sensing & Perception. These are the guys that doomed all of humanity by programming a robot to pick up poop, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did the acronyms for the project came first before the actual project itself.

The GRASP Lab programmed Willow Garage’s PR2 robot to pick up POOP (Potentially Offensive Objects for Pickup) using a routine they call POOP SCOOP (Perception Of Offensive Products and Sensorized Control Of Object Pickup). You clever guys you. By definition, POOP can be anything, but of course the cruel humans chose actual poop as POOP. The PR2 uses its color camera to detect the POOP and haptic feedback to detect if it successfully scooped it. To add insult to poop and salt to crap, they even programmed their robot to say, “time for me to scoop some poop” before it carries out its duty.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

How long before the robot decides that we are POOP? At least the folks at GRASP Lab will be the first to get scooped.

[via IEEE Spectrum]

Bizarre AshPoopie Concept is a Poop-Burnin’ Machine

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:20:55 +0000

A long time ago, we had a dog for my kids before it escaped from the yard and was never seen again. The thing I hated most about the dog was having to scoop the poo out back so my kids didn’t get into it. Handling dog poo is gross for sure. A new concept product that I can’t see ever making it to market is called the AshPoopie or AshPuppie – the maker doesn’t seem to be able to decide what to call it.

The concept has a scoop that opens when you press a button and then closes on the poo. It then drops some sort of capsule that burns the poo to ash that you can dump out. There is no mention of what the capsule is made from, which makes me wonder if this is a gag. Check out the video to see the far-fetched product concept in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I like the idea of it though, it would be great to not have to deal with bagged turds if you are a pet owner. Picking up poo with a bag on your hand is nearly as gross as not having a bag on your hand. The maker claims the AshPuppie (Poopie) will be ready for early 2012.

[via CNET via Dvice]

Poop… in… Spaaaaaace…

Shane McGlaun — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:30:04 +0000

One of the things that my childhood mind always wanted to know was how you go to the bathroom in outer space. Not to be rude or anything, but it always really sucked when you were dropping one off and accidentally pinched it off too early. You could burn through a whole roll of paper trying to clean up that mess. I know I’m not the only one that had to do the walk of shame at some point when you run out of paper.

I can only imagine the anxiety an astronaut might have in space when the walk of shame is from the moon to Earth. A NASA manual from back in the days of missions to the moon has been posted up and it makes the act of dropping a load something that is far more complex than here on Earth. It involves blower motors, bags, setting a “selector valve to the URINE-FECES position,” sitting on a flange, and all sorts of other unpleasant stuff. Apparently, when you’re all done, you wipe with a germicidal wipe and bag up the mess.

I never really thought about what would happen to a fart in a small enclosed capsule. Not only would it stink, but if it’s loaded with methane gas, you could actually blow yourself up if you’re not careful. That would really suck.

[via Gizmodo]

Mitsuyuki Ikeda Wants You to Eat His Burger Patties Made from Human Waste

Hazel Chua — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 12:30:28 +0000

I know the world’s population is increasing by the thousands every second as we speak, and the time will eventually come that the world’s resources will no longer be able to provide for the needs of all the human beings on the planet.

Because of such impending phenomenon, scientists all over the world have worked long and hard to develop hybrid corn and crops that grow bigger and faster. Researchers are also working double-time to come up with innovations in recycling and finding further uses for our waste so that we don’t run out of natural resources too soon.

One Japanese scientist with probably good intentions took all this to heart and presented his suggestion to a disgusted audience: burger patties made with meat synthesized from human feces. (And yes, we mean human crap, poop, excrement, or deposit, whatever you want to call it.)

That’s right. Mitsuyuki Ikeda, a researcher from Okayama’s Environmental Assessment Center, wants to help alleviate the world’s food crisis with human poop burgers.

This really isn’t “meat” per se. It’s sort of an artificial meat that’s derived from human waste. The patties are composed of 63% proteins, 25% carbohydrates, 3% lipids, and 9% minerals.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

He calls his meat “sewage mud” which I think is pretty appropriate. Ikeda maintains that his sewage mud will one day become a sellable commodity as opposed to the more costly process that is needed to produce and process real meat.

Like I said, his intentions and thoughts are noble and good. The final product? Not so much.

[via Dvice]

Poopocalypse : Best Game Name of the Year

Technabob — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:39:50 +0000

While it certainly wouldn’t be the first game I’ve heard of where pooping is a central element (yeah, I can’t believe it either), but Poopocalypse definitely has the best name of the genre.

From what I can tell, Wolpertinger Games‘ Xbox Live Indie game is all about pooping pidgeons. I don’t know if you play as a pooping pidgeon, or if you’re a person avoiding bird poo. Either way, it’s definitely weirder than your average Xbox 360 title.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Destructoid]

Concept Lets You Trade Poop for Power

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:07:53 +0000

I once knew a dude that had this strange fetish of farting in a ceramic duck that his mom had on the shelf. I once saw him fart in the duck, then turn around and light the fart lingering in the duck so I know you can burn a stinky groupie. With that delightful thought in mind, a guy has shown off a strange design concept with the goal of getting folks in countries with unreliable power the juice they need to run their gadgets and cook those meals.

I couldn’t help but write this story after seeing the picture above and noting that the title of the YouTube video showing how the concept works is called Shitfilm. The person who needs power pushes this round toilet drum around with them for a week at a time and drops a stinky load in it whenever needed. And the person who created the concept needs a spellchecker (Tansporation, anyone?)

Once the drum is full, they take it to the plant where all that filth is turned into power in the form of cooking gas and electricity. I certainly wouldn’t eat anything cooked over a flame created by my neighbor’s turds. You have to see the film below; it’s funny, entertaining, and gross all at the same time.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Yanko Design]

Darpa Gives New Meaning to “Brown Out” With Poop Reactor Idea

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:43:44 +0000

I went to college and know firsthand that methane will burn. I once knew a dude that burnt the hairs off his scrotum after a particularly noxious one was lit and flared up unexpectedly. Apparently, DARPA and the U.S. military are looking at a new use for poo. That is, assuming this isn’t some April Fool’s joke Wired is playing on folks. I suspect it is a joke. At least I hope it is.

Still, I am going to write about it because poo is funny and it gives me an excuse to break out a South Park reference. The story is that DARPA has put out a request for info on a reactor that could be powered by feces. This shitty generator would then be used to generate brown power for a several years off the grid.

I know a few parks with port-a-potties around my hometown that could corner the world market on electricity if this generator comes to pass. I can hear it now, “Oh crap sir, the power is out. Sergeant, have the cook break out the chili and prune juice right away.”

Spray Cacas: Si Amigo, Caca.

Lambert Varias — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:00:51 +0000

Don’t know what “caca” means? Open up your brain tank ’cause here comes – okay it’s Spanish for poop. So what would a product named “Spray Cacas” be like? Let me tell you: it’s a product that will revolutionize pranks in the same way that the Naked Man revolutionized one night stands. Supposedly anyway. The Spray Cacas is the real deal. It is truly a stroke of genius. It is fake, sprayable poop in a can! A goddamned deathpaste waiting to be deployed. It’s the exact opposite of Jack Black’s Vapoorize. Freakin’ weird and brilliant. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Brando’s selling this.

Again, it’s not real poop, but it’s supposedly very smelly. I’m pretty sure the 3 kids that read my posts are picking up pieces of their brain right now because I just blew their minds in the most thorough of manners. Feces in a can! What the hell else is there to want son? Man if I had this when I was a kid I wouldn’t be here typing this article because my mother would have definitely killed me. Go break your piggy banks – do you still have those? – and drop $6 (USD) at Things You Never Knew Existed. Awesome shop name, btw.

[via Random Good Stuff]

Polonium, Oxygen, Phosphorus Mousepad: Now That’S a Deadly Mixture

Lambert Varias — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:50:56 +0000

Breaking news: chemists have stumbled upon the recipe of doom: Polonium, Oxygen and Phosphorus, or PoOP.

Problem is, the price stinks: the PoOP mousepad sells for $16 USD at Mousepad Warehouse. There’s no way I’m paying $16 for a mousepad. And it doesn’t even mention the deadlier Sulfur Hydrogen Iodine Titanium mix– wait. Never mind.

[via Nerd Approved]

The Real Survival Horror Game: Don’t Shit Your Pants

Lambert Varias — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:30:53 +0000

Life is hard. Numerous trials and challenges lie ahead of us, lurking in the shadows that their shadowy souls provide for them, eager to pounce and thwart our dreams and ambitions, to prevent us from reaching our maximum potential, and at times we feel as if the future that we so vividly saw in our pristine mind’s eye when we were children has become unreachable, like the finish line to an exhausted decathlete, or enlightenment to an adolescent monk, or the bathroom to a man just aching, with all of his mind, body & soul, to drop the kids off at the pool, to fertilize the ferns, to do the Royal Squat, to greet Mr. Hankey, to launch a torpedo, or to just take a dump.

Flash game maker/ultimate survivor Rete created the game Don’t Sh*t Your Pants to recreate one of life’s most nerve wracking and horrific experiences, when the worst parts of you are peeking out and you’re not yet in a position to do something about it. It’s a text-based game, so you use phrases like “open door” or “sit in toilet” instead of directly controlling the character. Whereas the first text-based games were about fantasy and mythology, Don’t Shit Your Pants keeps it real and redefines the “survival horror” genre of video games.

Sporting multiple, often disastrously comic endings, where and how you poo-poo is up to you. Forget Resident Evil 5 and play Don’t Shit Your Pants for free at Kongregate; because a chainsaw-wielding, parasite-infested non-zombie is just a bunny with a pink ribbon compared to thought of crapping with your pants still on.

[via Kotaku]

Yay for Art!: Cloaca No 5 Machine Literally Produces Pieces of Crap

Lambert Varias — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:40:54 +0000

The fifth version of world-renowned artist Wim Delvoye’s sculpture is now on exhibit at the Université du Québec à Montréal’s gallery up until Valentine’s Day. Why should we care? Because his sculpture is actually a machine. A machine that “reproduces the human digestive system, from mastication to excretion”. In other words, all this machine does is eat & poop.

Delvoye has dubbed his work “Cloaca”, after the excretory orifice of birds, reptiles and amphibians. The machine-sculpture is made of steel, rubber and glass. A team of technicians is needed to set up Cloaca, after which Designboom says, it is then fed twice a day with cafeteria leftovers. But on its first day at the gallery four artists actually prepared a three-course meal for Cloaca.

I don’t know how long it takes for Cloaca to digest its “food”, but I do know, thanks to numerous, high-quality images, that machine poop looks exactly the same as man poop. If you don’t want to see crap, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN.

Of course you scrolled down. How’s that burger now you curious cat? As you can see the crap is vacuum packed. Why? Why not? As you can also see, the Cloaca’s logo looks really familiar. I guess it’s in keeping with the inspiration behind the artwork: human consumption and the merchandising of today’s consumer culture. Delvoye said, “I wanted to make something that is absurdly unnecessary… I don’t think this biologically correct machine belongs in a science museum. I don’t have that ego. I’m not helping sick people. I’m practically useless in society.” Funny guy.

Do you know any human Cloacas? You might want to take them to the exhibit – again it’s on display at Galerie de l’UQAM until February 14 – or show them more of Cloaca N˚5 at Wim Delvoye’s website.

[via Likecool]

Takara Tomy Xiao Camera Poops Pictures

Technabob — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:40:31 +0000

Now I’ve seen some wacky commercials out of Japan, but this one is one of the more off-the-wall ad campaigns I’ve seen in a long while.

These promotional clips for Takara Tomy’s new Xiao digital camera / printer hybrid drives the point home that the pocket size camera can output its own tiny photo prints – apparently by pooping them out.

Please to enjoy the scatological habits of the Xiao…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

…complete with (in)appropriate straining and grunting sounds…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’m sure the ad agency already thought of this (but just in case they haven’t already) perhaps the Xiao’s tagline should read something like “Takara Tomy Xiao: The Number Two Camera in All of Japan!”