High Tech Flush

I'm Barry Petersen and this Letter From Asia comes from Tokyo.

When you think of products the Japanese export to the U.S., most of us think of cars or electronic goods. But one Japanese company is opening a new front in the export effort, and so far…it has been flush with success.

Well, as that rather bad pun would suggest – we're talking toilets here…high tech, remote controlled.

"With this button you can open the lid automatically or the seat, too," a man from the manufacturer showed me. And if you need to flush? "Push this button."

And they do more than just flush. There is the nozzle for the bidet function…and then some.

"After washing there is a blow dryer," explained the man.

These have been a big hit in Japan for years…and now manufacturer Toto is discovering a fast growing market in the U-S. It will sell some 36-thousand this year, at prices as high as 13-hundred dollars.

It comes with a weight sensitive seat. Someone must be sitting on it, or the spray wash function doesn't work. That was invented after mothers discovered their kids playing with the remote and flooding bathrooms.

Some have special sensors that open when you approach to help older people…and in that same light, toilets adjust for height with the touch of a button.

Can you program your VCR with this remote controller? "No I don't think so," we were told.

Now – to the drawing board and what's next...some valuable medical benefits.

With a toilet that will perform an instant urinalysis and, in the near future, use the internet to transmit that information to your doctor on a regular basis. As the sign says…it will scold you for eating too much or exercising too little.

Technology trying to make us healthier…we can raise a salute…or at least raise a seat…to that.
by Barry Petersen