Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Gobsmacked

Having been raised in the 1970's, a simpler (read we didn't even have microwave ovens) age, I maintain my child-like sense of wonder at all things technology-related. The 21st century is indeed full of marvels for a person who has passed the 50-year mark (that is, moi). Cellphones, Internet, self-closing toilet lids, self-driving cars, have I mentioned cellphones - there is no end of the stupefying signs of human progress.

I mean, if you ignore what happened in the good ol' USA last November, anyway...

So, the latest? Is the lowly toilet paper holder. I didn't even realize until after we finished the master bathroom - the first time I had to change the toilet paper, to be exact:

A hinge! Why didn't we figure this out sooner?
It would be difficult to overstate my astonishment when I realized the spindle (if you can even call it that now) lifted up on a hinge and involved no spring mechanism; it was akin to the feeling I had when someone first showed me she could take photos on her phone and then send those photos straight to the Internet. Whole new worlds of possibility opened up to me.

The weight of the roll pushes the arm back down.

Think about it: this is now a one-handed operation. That means you can hold a baby in one arm and change the toilet paper roll with the other (not that I have babies any more, but still...). What's more, I will no longer be spending my valuable free time chasing an escaped spindle spring across the bathroom every time I change the roll.

Was that just me? Tell me that isn't just me.

And, most important of all, the unfortunate incident from way back in November 2008 - the one where I foolishly insisted my own kid install the new toilet paper roll while she was pooping, whereupon she accidentally dropped the spindle into the just-used toilet bowl? That will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

Life is good.





10 comments:

  1. Nope, not just you. Now I have to go out and buy one!!!

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  2. Definitely not just you. We did our remodel about 12 yrs ago, before such wonders. I did put spindle-less tp holders in 2/3 bathrooms. But as they are just an open-ended arm, there is still some hazard.

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  3. How could you write this, and even illustrate it with photos, and not link to somewhere to buy one, or at least say the name of the manufacturer? I'm going nuts trying to figure out what to put into Google to make this show up!

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    1. Moen toilet paper holder - found it at Lowes and Home Depot

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  4. Ooooh - fancy! Now I want one.

    And that "unfortunate incident" you linked to - priceless! That was before I found your site. Luckily, I can say I've never had to deal with that - but now that I've said it, it's sure to happen.

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  5. Wow! Someone had a brain wave. I have those stupid ones with the spring that are recessed into the wall. Wonder if I can convince my daughter's b/f to replace the drywall so I can get these installed. Too cool!

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  6. I once tried to change the toilet paper roll on one of those and didn't figure out why the spindle wouldn't pop out with a spring, because I also grew up in the 70s without VCRs or microwave ovens.
    But today, visiting my nephew's family, I discovered that they put the TP roll on backwards. *sigh*

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  7. I always wonder how one can be so smart, and, yet, why we didn't come up with this sooner. I'm impressed.

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  8. Whoa! That is AWESOME! Now I want to go change out all our TP holders...

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