How a Flush Toilet Works

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David Macaulay's The New Way Things Work helps us understand in a heavily visual, humorous, unerringly precise way what gadgets such as a toilet, a carburetor, and a fire extinguisher have in common. The award-winning author-illustrator--a former architect and junior high school teacher--is perfectly poised to be the Great Explainer of the whirrings and whizzings of the world of machines, a talent that landed the 1988 version of The Way Things Work on the New York Times bestsellers list for 50 weeks.

"High-tech" toilets

Advanced technology is being integrated into toilets with more and more functions, especially in Japan. By far the largest toilet manufacturer in the world, producing over 7 million toilets annually, is TOTO in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Such toilets can cost from US$2,000 to $4,000. The features are operated by control pads (sometimes with bilingual labels), and even hand-held remote control devices. Some of these features are: Water jets, or "bottom washers" like a bidet, as an alternative to toilet paper; The "Washlet," Toto's portable hand-held bottom washer ; Blow dryers, to dry the body after use of water jets ; Artificial flush sounds, to mask noises such as body functions ; Urine and stool analysis, for medical monitoring. Matsushita's "Smart Toilet" checks blood pressure, temperature, and blood sugar. ; Digital clock, to monitor time spent in the bathroom ; Automatic lid operation, to open and close the lid ; Heated seats ; and Deodorizing fans . From Wikipedia, The free online encyclopedia.

Below are links to internet sites of manufacturers
who have illustrations or demostrations of how their products work.

	Web www.toiletology.com

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