Genius Things Every City Should Have

Bright Side

Imagine a city where public toilets are designed to prevent splashing or even where they’re made of see-through glass that turns opaque when you lock the door—how cool is that? Picture a skyscraper with a slide that lets you zip down from the top floor, adding a bit of fun to your daily commute. These genius innovations make city living more convenient, hygienic, and entertaining. They show how a bit of creativity can transform mundane aspects of urban life into something special. Wouldn't it be amazing if every city embraced these clever ideas to enhance our everyday experiences?  Credit: Mayo Clinic / YouTube Great Big Story / YouTube On Demand News / YouTube UNDPSerbia / YouTube Walt Disney Animation Studios / YouTube Japan Go! / YouTube 日本財団活動紹介 / YouTube Bike Dreamers / YouTube FRANCE 24 English / YouTube VIRTUAL JAPAN / YouTube Atlas Obscura / YouTube Eesti Kunstiakadeemia / Estonian Academy of Arts / YouTube Ryan McManus / YouTube Cereal Marshmallows / YouTube Oddity Odysseys / YouTube mohiemen / Reddit Pueblo Pluto / Walt Disney Productions and co-producers Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00There are some inventions that make us say, dude, why didn't I come up with this?

00:06And then you have the next question, why don't we have it in my hometown yet?

00:10I'm talking about things like splash-proof toilets, liquid trees, and skyscrapers with

00:17slides.

00:18Yep, they're all pretty real, and you're about to fall in love with them.

00:24Have you ever used a public bathroom in the summer in your shorts and sandals and got

00:29splashed?

00:30It happens to the best of us, so no worries.

00:33If only there was some solution to this problem, perhaps a urinal with a small hole so no liquid

00:39goes where it shouldn't.

00:41Looks pretty yucky and painful to me.

00:43An assistant professor at the University of Waterloo, Zhao Pen, and his colleagues came

00:49up with a way better solution for this sensitive issue.

00:53Their designs were inspired by physics and dogs.

00:57When a stream of liquid moves on a solid surface at a shallow angle, the splash is reduced,

01:02and the smaller the angle, the fewer splashes you'll see.

01:06You can even minimize them to a zero.

01:08And when dogs do their business, they lift their hind legs and do it on the vertical

01:12surface of a tree or a wall.

01:15I don't know if they actually care about it, but this does reduce the splash.

01:19Good job, Pluto!

01:21The team invented several models and presented them at the American Physical Society conference,

01:27and it was a hit.

01:28The inventors say that all of the models are no splash, but their favorites are the slice

01:33of apple and the one that looks like a tall and slender J with a narrow and long opening.

01:40The new urinals aren't just super cool but also more sustainable.

01:44You won't have to wash the floor with water, chemicals, and human energy after every use,

01:49which is a win-win.

01:51Here's another innovative public toilet idea for you, this time from Japan.

01:58They have completely transparent walls, which means, yes, you can see everything that's

02:03going on inside, from the toilet itself to the hand wash sink.

02:07It sounds pretty creepy, but the idea was actually to create a safe restroom in the

02:12park.

02:13Visitors can see if there's someone hiding inside before entering and also check if the

02:18toilet is clean before entering.

02:20When you go inside and lock the door, the walls change color to opaque, and no one will

02:25be able to see you.

02:27They used glass covered with PDLC film to make the walls, which allowed them to go from

02:32being transparent to safely in tents using electricity.

02:36Alright, now you've nearly convinced me to try one of those magical toilets.

02:41Oh, and they also double as excellent lanterns in the dark, shining bright in different colors.

02:47Bring a couple to my local park, I don't mind.

02:51Take a deep breath.

02:52If you don't like what you're breathing in, do something about it.

02:56That must have been exactly what the smart guys at the University of Belgrade, Serbia

03:00thought and invented the Liquid Tree.

03:03The Liquid Tree, not the pun and laugh a bit, consists of a glass tank filled with over

03:09150 gallons of water, some microalgae, and a solar panel which provides electricity to

03:15a small pump.

03:17The microalgae need heating, so just in case there's no sun and the temperatures drop,

03:22the photobioreactor is also connected to the city grid.

03:27Microalgae work hard to do some photosynthesis magic and convert water and CO2 into oxygen,

03:33and then it goes into the atmosphere.

03:35The Liquid Tree also comes with a bench to sit on and enjoy its work.

03:40The Liquid Tree needs more work than a regular tree in the park.

03:44They need to replace the water and microalgae almost completely every month and a half.

03:49And they also need to take out the biomass that is the byproduct of the process.

03:54And let's admit, nothing can replace those blooming babes in spring.

03:58If you ever find yourself casually wandering in the forests of Estonia, don't freak out

04:03if you see some giant megaphones.

04:06These wooden acoustic giants were set three hours away from the country's capital by interior

04:12architecture students.

04:14That's way cooler than the hamster roller coaster I once built for a science fair, I

04:17have to admit.

04:20More than half of Estonia is covered by woods, and they're pretty proud of this natural wealth.

04:24So it's not the first art project of this kind, and there was a winding, elevated pathway

04:29and a faceted woodland cabin.

04:32The idea of the megaphones is to crank up the natural sounds of a forest and also to

04:38serve as a rest spot for hikers.

04:42These wooden beauties are large enough to host several people.

04:45And hey, if you walk this far into the woodland, you'll be thankful for this.

04:50The students were given a task to invent some concepts of a forest library.

04:55They built the megaphones off-site and brought them to their permanent spots.

05:00They're set in such a way that sounds from three directions meet in the center and create

05:05a cool natural surround sound effect.

05:08Have you ever helped your friends move into a new apartment in a building without an elevator?

05:13Then you're gonna love this one.

05:15Houses in Amsterdam have hooks on top.

05:18This is a medieval invention for pulling stuff up the houses.

05:22The simple tech consisting of a wheel and a rope still functions now, centuries later.

05:27Why not just use the stairs?

05:29Well, if you get inside one of those narrow Amsterdam buildings, you'll see there's hardly

05:34enough room to comfortably ascend, and you can forget about even trying to pull a table

05:39on top.

05:40Back in the medieval ages, pretty much like now, only rich people could afford housing

05:45around the canals in the best parts of the city.

05:48Those people were mostly traders and used the canals for their business.

05:53They stored goods in the same houses they lived in, and with regular floods, they had

05:58to find a way to keep the goods dry.

06:01And that's why they needed to invent something to lift furniture, goods, boxes, instruments,

06:07and food on the upper floors, and pull it in through fully open, wide windows.

06:13The lifting tech is one of the reasons the houses in Amsterdam are leaning forward.

06:18This position helped keep both the lifted stuff and the walls and windows safe during

06:23transportation.

06:25They didn't have to touch each other.

06:27The gables also assisted in the process, and had to be made firm to withstand all the

06:32heavy weight.

06:33And in case you're wondering what gables are, they're sections of wall between the edges

06:38of a dual-pitched roof, typical for Amsterdam.

06:43Folks who live or work in skyscrapers have the opposite problem.

06:47Getting out of the building can take a while as you wait in line for the elevator.

06:51A slide going from the top of a skyscraper could be a solution.

06:56In 2016, they added one outside of the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles at the height of

07:011,000 feet.

07:03The see-through slide made of glass just one inch thick was built to withstand hurricane

07:08force winds and earthquakes.

07:10It was built to bring tourists to the building, though not for the convenience of office workers.

07:16And then they decided it wasn't such a great idea, so the slide was removed as part of

07:21the reconstruction of the building.

07:23A Hong Kong photographer and editor who became famous online went even wilder with his imagination

07:30and designed a double-decker bus with a slide.

07:34It's not his only futuristic photography masterpiece, as he likes to play with perspective

07:39and proportions.

07:40I can totally see myself sliding away when someone asks me to pay for the ride!

07:46That's it for today!

07:47So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

07:52friends.

07:53Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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