A cable that runs between the body of this Japanese toilet and the seat – to power the under-seat heating. Having an exposed cable is a surprising design choice given the issues related to cleanliness and (male standing) splash-back. For any device (think flip-phone…) or system the internal and external ways of moving power/bits from A to B and the associated costs of each. Someone should bring together the toilet and mobile phones design communities for an, um, sit down.

The Domestic Traces Human Spaces flickr pool has some tranquil examples of, well, human traces in domestic spaces. How does this relate to this photo? In a country where heated toilet seats are common a warm toilet seat doesn’t imply the recent presence of another human.