Big or Small — You Decide!

When I was in the 3rd grade, I read a small book about conservation and the environment. I remember one section particularly well because it suggested practical ways to start living more conservatively. One suggestion was to place a jar or carton filled with rocks in the water tank of your toilet so that you would use less water with each flush. This is great for water conservation but the accompanying loss in flushing power makes the rocks-in-the-tank solution less than ideal. Although reduced effectiveness was my mother's stated reason for denying my request for an empty carton and rocks, I'm sure it had just as much to do with the fact that she didn't want a 3rd grader mucking around with her toilet. Fair enough, but I never let the idea of a variable-water toilet die and I think if I ever had a few spare days at home, I would try to find a way to make it work. Well, it looks like the Japanese have beat me to it. It's brilliant. Most of the time, you need just a little bit of water, but, as my mother correctly pointed out over a dozen years ago, sometimes you need all 2.5 gallons.