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Illuminated Micro Toilets Make a Loud Statement About Peeing in Public

Hazel Chua — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:00:01 +0000

One reason why some alleys or street corners stink so badly is because some people pee on them. (Okay, so dogs also pee anywhere they want to, but humans should know better.) Aside from the stink, it’s also very unsightly.

In a clever way of protesting this, Spanish street art collective Luzinterruptus set up eighty of these illuminated, micro toilets at the Plaza de San Ildefonso in downtown Madrid. Each micro toilet was filled with a yellow liquid (for obvious reasons, they didn’t use urine) and attached with a LED light.

Luzinterruptus explained the reason for their art intervention: “During the day and at night time, people urinate anywhere in the streets without any embarrassment. They just walk along, turn round, zip down and, even in crowded places, seen by passers-by, let go. Through our installation, public toilets, we have tried to attract attention -in a comical manner- about the problem we encounter when walking in centric streets and squares.”

At first glance, the plastic urinals they used look like oddly shaped socks for people with giant feet. But they’re actually plastic containers that are used for male patients to urinate into at hospitals. Who knew?

[via Pop Up City]

CLOO iPhone App Wants You to Rent Out Your Loo to Total Strangers

Hazel Chua — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:00:04 +0000

It’s always annoying when you have to go (go as in poop or pee, not go as in, to leave) and find that there’s no vacant toilet nearby. You can run and search the immediate vicinity, but chances are, the bathroom will almost always be occupied (especially in times when you most need it.)

So what did some clever people come up with? CLOO. No, it’s not some portable toilet or anything of that sort. Rather, it’s an app for your smartphone that will sort of work like a geo-targeted social network for toilets. It connects people who: 1) have a vacant toilet and 2) need to go urgently.

That means CLOO is working on the concept that some people will allow total strangers to pee or take a dump in their bathroom for a couple of dollars.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Some people have expressed disgust at the concept, which I understand, because really, you’ll basically be opening your door to complete strangers who could have other intentions than just using your toilet. Nonetheless, good try though, CLOO crew.

[via Gizmodo via Dvice]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Bomb for Sale on Ebay

Technabob — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:30:46 +0000

One of the top news stories of the last 24 hours was a bomb scare set off in Boston because of a guerilla marketing campaign for the Adult Swim show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Mysterious LED devices featuring the ATHF characters “Ignignokt” and “Err” (flipping the bird) we placed around the city, sending the city into a panic.

Now you can own one of these original devices if you’re willing to part with some serious cash. Someone has posted one of the actual “bombs” for sale on eBay. We’re only a few hours into the auction, and the bids are already over $3,000. The seller claims that the money will be used to fund more public art in the Boston area, so at least it’s going to a good cause. This is certain to be a collectors item (if the police don’t come and confiscate it as evidence.)

[UPDATE 2/1 3:00pm: It appears that the auction has since been pulled from eBay. Someone always has to pee on my parade ]

[UPDATE 2/2 10:12pm: A few more ATHF LED signs from around the country have turned up on eBay here, here, here, here, here, and here. So if you're interested in picking up a piece of history, now's your chance.]