So you want to save water by taking shorter showers — but find your resolve wash away once you start running the water? (“I get such great ideas in there!”) Designer Elisabeth Buecher’s boa constrictor-esque shower curtain could help. (via groovy green)
Basically, the shower curtain slowly inflates around you while the shower’s running, in the end trapping and immobilizing the showerer. The idea, I’m guessing, is not so much to kill the uneco showerer as to speed up said showerer, encouraging them to soap up and rinse off quickly before life is squeezed out of them.
A second shower curtain slowly grows spikes as you shower — spikes that eventually push you out of the shower water’s reach.
Why such sadistic green gadgets? Elisabeth counters that getting frightened awake by alarm clocks too can be painful — but those clocks are also useful. “I call it ‘design of threat and punishment’ and I use it as an educational tool,” she writes.
Cute idea — Though I do see a serious problem with the design. The goal of these curtains is to ecofy the world — but from what I can tell, these curtains would have to be made with vinyl / PVC — not an eco product. Until we invent a super flexible material that’s vinyl like but environmentally sensitive, you’ll have to stick to the shower timer –
Image via Elisabeth Buecher
Update, 4/27/09: Shower like you’re camping
Please tell me that this is a holdover from April Fools’ Day?
If not, this shower curtain would be a good way to curtail a teenagers overly long showers! As long as it came with some sort of escape hatch. :)
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Comment by Condo Blues — April 21, 2009 @ 2:59 pm
From what I gather, it’s a design student’s project. As far as I know it’s not actually being marketed commercially :)
Comment by Siel — April 21, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
Interesting idea for sure… I would feel bad for visitors who maybe were a little older and not so quick in the shower. Or if I got back from mountain biking and needed more time than usual to scrub clean!
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Comment by Bill Byrne — April 21, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
And what about if someone takes a shower immediately after you? Is there a “reset button” of some kind?
I’ll stick to a low flow showerhead and the stress of running late for class in the morning.
Comment by Chris — April 21, 2009 @ 4:31 pm