Urinals That Talk?

I ran across an unusual story at CNet news today entitled “Chatty urinal coming to a men’s room near you.” What? Urinals that talk? You betcha!

There are already many public restrooms that sport advertising on the walls, many times right in front of your face. So it was only a matter of time before someone would come up with the idea of a talking urinal. Dr. Richard Deutsch has done just that with the Wizmark Urinal Communicator.

They already have audio playing in the bathrooms of Buca di Beppo where a soundtrack of two women are speaking in Italian. You assume they are talking about you but because I don’t speak Italian, it is only an assumption. I’m sure in the women’s restroom, men are speaking but I haven’t ventured in there to find out. Then at Romano’s Macaroni Grill, there is a soundtrack that will translate Italian words into English. So why not a talking urinal? Bring it on!

Like the popular automatic flush in many public restrooms, the Communicator has a motion sensor that’s activated when the user comes within one to two feet of it. Currently, the speakers spurt out positive messages, including ones trying to help curb drunk driving, such as:

“Hey you! Yeah, you. Having a few drinks? Then listen up! Think you had one too many? Then it’s time to call a cab, or call a sober friend for a ride home. It sure is safer and a hell of a lot cheaper than a DUI. Make the smart choice tonight, don’t drink and drive.”

But of course, those speakers could also spurt out advertising messages, and the gadget’s LCD screen is the perfect size for a company logo. Deutsch, indeed, has such intentions. Maybe this is the next place we could see Google Ads showing up? Who knows?