January 10, 2003 Two ideas: soap on a stick and insubmergible soap.
1. Soap on a stick
One could create an epic about Korean public toilets. There is even a site dedicated to them – toilet.co.kr. An average Korean toilet is a masterpiece of engineering thought, a glorious interior and an art gallery – all in one flacon. Koreans treat this aspect of public life with affection and even run competitions for a better toilet (on a city, provincial and even national level). By the way, toilets in Korea are always and everywhere free.
And here is one touch to be added to the created picture. Imagine a bar of soap in a public toilet. It has passed though lots of hands and now lies as a wet dab in a soap dish. In come Korean toilets they use a more civilized version – soft soap with a special dispenser.
But more popular is the following device: a stick is protruding angle-wise from a wall and a bar of soap is put on it. The soap freely rotates because there is a plastic pipe stuck into it. The soap does not become wet and it is impossible to drop it. A comfortable, pleasant, inexpensive and aesthetic solution! Combining the principles “Separation” and “Dynamic parts” produced a convenient thing.
2. Insubmergible soap
Have you ever had to catch a slippery piece of soap in a bath? Or dropped the last piece of soap into a lake during a walking tour?
Wouldn't it be great if soap were floating?
What does physics state? Soap will float if its specific density is lower than that of water. Should we make a large air-filled cavity inside a bar of soap? Yes, it is a good solution. The soap will float until it holes opens. And suppose soap has lots of cavities! This means that soap is made porous. It is enough to foam the soap substance before molding.
Information source: David E. H. Jones “The inventions of Daedalus”.
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