Could Germany's Portable Woman's Toilet Expand Plumbing Product Offerings?

Photo: KETS

I don't make this stuff up. I'm not that imaginative. I just pass it along. According to a story from Germany's Spiegel...

A German company says it has designed the world's first pocket urinal for women and claims it will put an end to nightmare encounters with filthy public toilets, time-consuming queuing and having to relieve oneself into yoghurt cups during car journeys.

The disposable Ladybag is a plastic bag fitted with absorbent polymers that turn urine into a gel. It's the size of a chocolate bar when folded. It has a wide opening and can be used squatting, sitting or standing. Its gel can absorb half a liter -- enough to process the average amount of urine per sitting -- but the bag itself can hold a whole liter in an emergency.

Yogurt cups during car journeys? Maybe the Germans are a little too efficient.

A package of three Ladybags costs a little more than $16 in Germany ($13 without the German value-added tax). Over 20 thousand have sold in the first year. A similar product for men, called the Roadbag, sells at the rate of 200 thousand a year.

I don't know whether anyone is planning on importing these into North America, though this seems like the type of product Shubee or M.A.R.S. might carry. If so, it might lead to add-on sales during calls.

Personally, I'll never be able to drive the Autobahn again without wondering... Nah. I'm not going there.