I say “new” in quotes because Japan has had these for decades, but NPR and Latvia are calling them new innovations: sink urinals. To spell it out simply, the water used to flush the toilet comes out of a pipe at the top of the urinal – above a basin where you can wash your hands – and then flows down the urinal to the complete the flush. No need for a separate counter with sinks for washing hands and no need to use water twice when you can do all your business there once you’ve, uh, done your business.
Japanese style is below on the left and the new iteration on the right. Crazy? Cool? Creepy? You make the call, but it may also just get people to wash their hands once their done while saving water.
