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Never dreamed poop could get you blazing down the asphalt? Well, now it all comes true as Japan's biggest toilet maker, TOTO, takes the toilet on the road with its launch of the Toilet Bike Neo, a bike that's powered entirely by human waste. The bike runs on biogas converted from feces that is harvested directly from the driver -- who sits on the bike's toilet-styled seat. It gives a new twist to "poop as you go," but that's not the only quirky innovation that this bike will feature.According to Spoon & Tamago:
Toilet Bike Neo is also equipped with some other cool functions. It uses residual light imagery to write messages in the air as it zooms by (you can see an example by scrolling down to their Sep 26 blog entry). It can also play music to entertain spectators. Finally, the toilet actually talks. This is a technology that TOTO has been equipping many of their new toilets with.
Talking toilets -- only in Japan would that kind of thing not freak out unsuspecting victims. It's not clear, though, whether the bike's driver will defecate in private or not in order to provide fuel. Nevertheless, keep your eyes peeled: as an alternative source of fuel, the energy offered by human waste is great enough that it's been called the "new coal."
In any case, if you're in Japan, you can see it perform: the talking, music-playing, poop-powered toilet bike is going on a 600 mile cross-country tour of Japan, starting October 6 from TOTO headquarters in Kitakyushu. There will be a stop in Nakatsu to pay homage to an ass-shaped boulder (yes, only in Japan), then the tour will poop its way to Kobe, Kyoto and end in Tokyo.
The Toilet Bike Neo tour is part of the TOTO Green Challenge, which is aims to halve CO2 emissions in bathrooms by 2017. To keep updated on the Toilet Bike Neo's progress and to find out more details on the technology behind this dung-converting bike, check out the company's blog.
Toilet Bike Neo is also equipped with some other cool functions. It uses residual light imagery to write messages in the air as it zooms by (you can see an example by scrolling down to their Sep 26 blog entry). It can also play music to entertain spectators. Finally, the toilet actually talks. This is a technology that TOTO has been equipping many of their new toilets with.
Talking toilets -- only in Japan would that kind of thing not freak out unsuspecting victims. It's not clear, though, whether the bike's driver will defecate in private or not in order to provide fuel. Nevertheless, keep your eyes peeled: as an alternative source of fuel, the energy offered by human waste is great enough that it's been called the "new coal."
In any case, if you're in Japan, you can see it perform: the talking, music-playing, poop-powered toilet bike is going on a 600 mile cross-country tour of Japan, starting October 6 from TOTO headquarters in Kitakyushu. There will be a stop in Nakatsu to pay homage to an ass-shaped boulder (yes, only in Japan), then the tour will poop its way to Kobe, Kyoto and end in Tokyo.
The Toilet Bike Neo tour is part of the TOTO Green Challenge, which is aims to halve CO2 emissions in bathrooms by 2017. To keep updated on the Toilet Bike Neo's progress and to find out more details on the technology behind this dung-converting bike, check out the company's blog.
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