Frictionless Toilets (Re: TML biweekly Msg 3968 V26#10)

[email removed] (Michael A. Surman) writes:
> The question about frictionless surfaces came up because of a
> science fiction novel I remembered reading (title & author currently
> forgotten). The material wasn't used for bearings but plumbing. I
> remember the character in the story used a toilet, which was
> completely dry, and watched as his excrement slid away.

Give the (deservedly) anonymous author a no-prize for a clearer
understanding of low-friction technology than toilet
technology.  The principal reason toilets have water in them is
to prevent odors escaping.  Not only is the brown stuff
submerged in water during use but, much more importantly,
Crapper's celebrated invention is designed so that there is
always a water barrier between the user and the main sewer
line.  Without this barrier, one's home would soon begin to
smell like a sewer.  The flushing action is designed mainly to
carry offensive materials through the barrier.  Consider the
predecessor of the flush toilet, in which a *very* low
coefficient of friction exists between the target material and
the transport on the way to the final disposal destination
:-).  Not something I'd want in my home.

					Bart Massey
					[email removed]

"Build a better toilet, and the world will stand in line outside
your door with legs crossed."