The Wizz

Have you noticed lately? Perhaps airports did it first. Urinals that flush themselves. Nearly all use some sensor technology trying to detect the male in front of the urinal.

But why?

A friend felt bad that many an office has resorted to doing this. He was responsible enough to flush the toilet. To have an automated system do it for you must mean too many folks are not flushing.

Now, to be fair, flushing is something of a reaction we base on shame. I suppose it's possible that urine filled toilets lack cleanliness, but even toilets with plain water suggest filth, for some reason.

We'd conserve more water if we didn't flush at a urinal, no?

And why do some urinals have water in it at all? This is not our homes where there are no urinals (and I think there should be--a tiny room that is just a urinal, plus a place to wash hands, perhaps the size of those you find in an airplane).

Why do men need to pee in water?

If there are sensors anyway, why not have guys pee in the porcelain, then a gentle spray, every once in a while sprays. Heck, why do we even need to time it whenever someone is actually done?

The answer, I suppose, is that's how it's always been done, and we have a perception of what is clean.

But it doesn't make much sense.