Urinal flies are designed to attract the attention of urinating males and to stimulate their subconscious minds as a self-competitive game and training aid. These urinal targets improve aim and reduce messes and cleaning costs.
Unlike toilets, which don’t smell, urinals collect urine and can get a little ripe. To help keep them sanitary, janitors use urinal cakes, which are blocks of the same chemicals used in mothballs.
They Attract Attention
Using urinal targets can help reduce the amount of urine that is spilled. This is because the target draws attention to the place where the urine should be aimed. In this way, the target is a helpful training aid for men that want to reduce the amount of splashback they produce.
The idea of adding a urinal target to toilets and urinals first came about in the 1890s. At that time, a number of different designs were used. Some were etched into the toilet screen, and others were attached to the toilet bowl. In addition, a number of these were designed to be removable. These could be taken out and repositioned for different uses or cleaned when necessary.
In the 1960s, the Dutch Army added a more advanced version of the urinal target to its urinal screens. These were designed with etchings of flies, and according to a maintenance worker at Schiphol Airport, the urinal flies helped reduce urinal spillage by 80%.
A urinal fly is a simple, low-cost solution to a big problem: men’s lack of precision when aiming a stream of pee. The urinal fly is a great example of what’s known as a nudge, a technique that aims to change people’s behavior in predictable ways without forbidding options or significantly changing economic incentives. The physical design change is a type of nudge, and the urinal fly is effective.
While adding a urinal fly to every public restroom is not practical, many other things can be done. For instance, a mom blogger wrote that she took a red Sharpie and drew an aim arrow on her kids’ toilets. Now her boys automatically focus on the arrow whenever they use the bathroom, and she claims this has dramatically reduced the amount of pee they spill.
Other nudges that could be used to reduce urinal spillage include placing fly stickers on the outside of the stall doors and placing a small snuff box in front of each urinal. These would remind men to keep the urinal clean and encourage them to put the snuff-box back in the urinal after using it. The snuff boxes could also be filled with scented items to help create a pleasant aroma.
They Are a Self-Competitive Game
A urinal target is an image placed inside the toilet or urinal to encourage users to aim in a particular place to avoid any messes and reduce cleaning costs. The images can be custom created from a digitized photograph of the user or can be one of many different types of urinal fly stickers. The images are designed to be appealing to males, and the urinal targets serve as a self-competitive game that stimulates the brain, thus improving aim.
From an early age, a male will instinctively attempt to shoot urine at a target if one is present. The urinal target provides an automatic incentive to hit the target, and it is well known that this is a very effective way to train the subconscious mind to improve aim.
The urinal target can be made from a wide variety of materials and can be any shape or size. The urinal target can also be colored and have a number or other value indicia printed on the surface. In addition, the urinal target can be made from elastomeric materials or other durable plastics that are not easily damaged.
In order to make the urinal target more attractive, it can be shaped to resemble a bull’s eye or to look like a cartoon fly, and the color can be chosen to be pleasing to the eye. The urinal target can even be made from a material that glows in the dark to attract attention.
A urinal target can also be used to provide a social media link to allow the user to upload pictures and videos of their toilet aim experience to a website. This can be particularly useful for businesses that use public restrooms, such as hotels and restaurants, which want to increase customer retention by promoting cleanliness in their facilities.
The urinal target can also be used as a way to promote a local business or event, such as an art show or charity event. The urinal targets can be painted with the name of a specific artist, or they can contain a slogan or promotional message. The urinal targets can even be customized with the logo of a specific restaurant or hotel, and this can increase brand recognition by making the company stand out from its competitors.
They Are a Brain Stimulator
In many cases, urinal targets have been used to help people improve their aim so as to reduce the amount of urine that ends up on the floors and walls. These devices can be printed with a number of different images to encourage people to target them; for example, they can feature the image of a politician, boss, or sports team. These types of images have also been known to be effective in helping to increase the fun factor for the target user and thereby increase the likelihood that they will aim at the correct spot.
The device can be adapted to work in both toilets and urinals and can be installed by simply attaching it to the surface of the respective fixture. In addition to a display, the device can also have sensors that convert pressure and/or flow length into a score value for the user. The processor then uses the information from the sensors to illuminate a sequence of display elements on the display based on the score value.
A number of different types of sensors can be used to monitor the force exerted on the target, such as Hall Effect sensors, strain gauges, etc. For example, the sensor can be configured such that a magnet 30 (see FIG. 2A) is urged away from a base by a resilient member, such as a spring 34, and the magnet moves closer to the Hall Effect sensor when urine passes over the target device. The Hall Effect sensor then generates a signal proportional to the force of the flowing liquid.
These signals are converted by the micro-controller system 99 into a score value, which is then displayed on display 310. The display can be visible through window 15 in the target cover 36 and is configured to include one or more illuminable areas 13. The processor then selects one of the illuminable areas based on the score value and illuminates that area.
The processor can also use a power/status indicator LED 105 to provide indications of the status of the urinal target system. For example, the LED 105 can be controlled to blink periodically for short periods of time to indicate that the battery 90 has sufficient capacity and that the urinal target system is operational.
They Are a Training Aid
Aiming a stream of urine in the right direction is something that many men struggle with. This is a problem that causes toilets, urinals, and their surrounding areas to become messy and unhygienic. Several different approaches have been tried in order to help people aim correctly. These include training aids like urinal targets and encouraging children to use potty targets to help with toilet training.
One method involves using a red Sharpie to write “AIM” in big letters on the bowl of the toilet, which can be quite effective. The resulting image will draw the attention of the user, making them focus on the area they want to aim at and hopefully avoid the rest of the bowl and its contents. However, this method does require a permanent mark on the toilet and can be quite dangerous.
Another approach is using a target device permanently manufactured into the toilet or urinal. This is a great way to encourage people to aim for the right place and can be extremely helpful for reducing the spread of germs and keeping toilets, urinals, and their surroundings clean. The patented target device is a piece of filter paper that has been impregnated with certain pH-indicating means and has a color-changing pigment ink stamp applied to the top.
The upper layer of the patented target is first soaked in an aqueous alkaline solution. This solution is preferably prepared from an aqueous alkaline solution made from sodium hydroxide and water for about 5 minutes. It is then allowed to dry.
The second step is to spray the upper layer with non-toxic, non-reactive paint. The paint is then cured under a UV light. The resulting cured paint is then applied to the surface of the toilet or urinal.
The resulting urinal target is not only an attractive addition to the bathroom but also serves as an exciting and interactive training tool. It can be used by children, adults, or both and helps to train the user to aim in the correct place. It is even thought to reduce spillage, which can be an important part of toilet training and lowering cleaning costs.
