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Fri 09 Sep 2009Innovation in your toilet
Figuring out a solution to loo noises may not be top of the to-do list for Irish engineers, but Japan has had the answer for nearly 20 years . . .
HOW MANY of us have been there, sitting on a public toilet and squirming at the sounds coming from the next cubicle? Or worse: wondering if the next cubicle can hear you relieving yourself. Figuring out a solution to loo noises may not be top of the to-do list for Irish engineers, but typically Japan has had the answer for nearly two decades: the Sound Princess. Attached to lavatory walls, it masks the sound of self-conscious people doing their business by loudly playing back a 25-second recording of running water.
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