You know those “electric eye” things on the wall behind a public toilet, the little infrared thing that detects when you stand up, and thusly it is time to flush your concentrated evil bodily squeeze? Ever walked in on a public toilet with leftovers because the prior tenant wasn’t aware that there is a small button next to the electric eye you can push to manually finish the flush?

No long do we have a physical lever like on a slot machine (and even these are a thing past), and I suppose a pipe without a slot machine handle must mean that there is only one automatic flush allowed, to conserve water, I suppose. Or conserve composting opportunities if only you brought a ladle (I always carry a ladle… you never know when something charming from a standing body of water will require scooping, retrieval, and relocation.

So, the rub here is if you have a significant remainder left after the red electric eye auto-flush doesn’t do the deed completely, please look for a small button, much like what you would find on a TV remote, and give that a few jabs. Unless, of course, you are like me and don’t want to rob the next tenant of their chance to wield there convenient ladle.

How’s this for a fun gig? It’s very easy to place a small audio emitter also in series with the motion detecting red electric eye behind the toilet. You stand up, the autoflush engages, and you hear HAL’s voice loudly behind you emitting boldly “Good Morning, Dave? What are you doing, Dave?”

Hear that high pitched whirring noise? Very loud, very whirring. That’s Arthur C. Clarke spinning in his grave. You’re welcome.