Scientists have finally developed a urinal to drastically reduce any pee splashblack.
While splashback has accosted many over the decades, the good people at the University of Waterloo could soon make this a thing of the past.
The Daily Mail reported that the ‘splash-free urinal’ promises absolutely no piddle coming your way regardless of where you aim.
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Due to the tall, narrow design that’s met with a curving inner surface, the urinal prevents any droplets from ricocheting off.
Lead researcher and Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Zhao Pan, said, as per New Science: “The idea originated exactly where you think it did. I think most of us have been a little inattentive at our post and looked down to find we were wearing speckled pants.”
The innovative urinal was presented at the American Physical Society's Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics earlier this week.
According to New Science, the abstract for their presentation read: “Our new urinal designs will keep bathrooms cleaner and reduce the labor, water, and chemicals required for periodic cleaning to promote more sustainable bathroom maintenance.”
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The outlet reported that the team from the University of Waterloo was inspired by how dogs pee, as they observed far less liquid splattering every time they make a pit stop.
It was here they realised that canines pee from the ‘critical angle’ as they instinctively know how to raise their hind legs resulting in no mess.
During the design process, physicists toyed around with test urinals while firing a jet of coloured fluids at different speeds to determine what made the most mess, as per the Daily Mail.
Researchers found that the critical angle that resulted in the tiniest splash was about 30°.
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“Thus, a surface designed to always intersect the urine stream equal to or smaller than the critical angle prevents splash back,” the presentation added.
But just so you understand how much we need a urinal of this calibre, researchers found out last year that tens of thousands of particles fly into the air with a single flush for up to 20 seconds.
Which begs the question, how long does pee stay in the air?
And if you weren’t already gagging, these particles can include vomit, virus and faecal bacteria.
A team of scientists from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science found that these particles can also reach several feet above the ground.
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Dr Siddhartha Verma, co-author of the study at Florida Atlantic University, said in a media release: “Both the toilet and urinal generated large quantities of droplets smaller than three micrometers in size, posing a significant transmission risk if they contain infectious microorganisms.
“Due to their small size, these droplets can remain suspended for a long time.”
So when you flush, don’t linger!
Charisa Bossinakis