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Caltech Couple Invents Solution to Age-Old Problem, ‘Honey, You Left the Toilet Seat Up Again!’

Students Start Potty Glo Kickstarter to Save Relationships around the World

Published on Monday, February 9, 2015 | 12:59 pm
 
Alex Pai and Betty Wong. Photo credit Betty Wong

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, but it isn’t always paradise between couples, especially when one partner leaves the toilet seat up. That’s why California Institute of Technology (Caltech) students Betty Wong and Alex Pai invented Potty Glo, photoluminescent ultra premium vinyl adhesives that can be placed on the inside of the toilet lid to notify users when the toilet seat is up.

“I was sick of falling into the toilet bowl every time my boyfriend would leave the seat up at night,” says Betty Wong, co-creator of Potty Glo and a PhD student in Molecular Neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology. “One night, he placed a glow-in-the-dark adhesive on the inside of the toilet seat lid. I loved it and felt like I had to share the idea. Now I think – if lit, then sit, or no glow, no go.”

Potty Glo uses a “new generation” photoluminescent mineral (strontium aluminate) that glows brightly for 12+ hours every night. The stickers are non-radioactive, non-toxic, and recharge with just 30 minutes of natural sunlight or artificial lighting.

A recent Harvard Medical School study found that at night, certain blue and white night lights throw the body’s biological clock—the circadian rhythm—out of sync. These lights may even contribute to the causation of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Potty Glo uses a green light, which is not detrimental to your sleep health, and lasts for more than 20 years.

“Since we’re graduate students with little income, we’re trying to use crowd source funding to bring this to others,” say Wong and co-creator Alex Pai, who is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering at Caltech.

Potty Glo adhesives will come in a variety of designs, including an angler fish, hearts, jellyfish and more.

To learn more about PottyGlo, visit www.pottyglo.com.

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