Monday, April 16, 2007

And you thought laptops catching fire was bad?


Toto Ltd., which claims to be "the industry leader of plumbing-related products in Japan" (hey, everyone's got to be #1 at something), has offered free repairs to 180,000 Z Series toilet bidets which they say may catch fire because of wiring problems. Gives new meaning to "hot seat." HA! Get it? Hot Seat ... cause where you sit would be ... oh forget it. More after the jump.

So it seems Japan has some sort of obsession with toilet related technology including toilets with heated seats, water jets, blow dryers, remote control flushing (why?) and music to drown out any unpleasant noises. Here just watch this, it'll give you the idea.
But perhaps all of this technology has come up to bite them in the (ahem) ... as electronic devices in the toilets began to smoke in 26 incidents and actually caught fire in three others. Emi Tanaka, spokesperson for Toto Ltd., said, "Fortunately, nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out and there were no injuries. The fire would have been just under your buttocks."

But this just brings up a larger issue of the ever growing world of toilets and toilet accessories. These Z Series toilet bidets cost upwards of $2,600. For that kind of scratch you expect a warm seat, but not that warm.

Maybe more shocking - in November, the who's who of the bathroom world will gather in New Delhi, India for the 2007 World Toilet Summit. No, seriously, there's a website and everything. Anyway, this year's theme (yes, this is a yearly event) is "Toilets for Health, Hygiene, Comfort and Dignity."

Yup. Nothing says dignity like third degree ass burns.

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