25 July 2009

At the risk of being indelicate, I need to gush about a product I just discovered



As I mention all the time, I've been going to an isolated island in The Bahamas for the last couple of years, and I'm headed back there in a couple of weeks.

I'm fortunate in many ways, and one of them is my great friend JD. JD's who got me hooked on Cat Island in the first place and I owe my recently acquired love of flying to him too.


This is JD's plane. It's a single prop, four-seater. It's stable and powerful and handles like a sedan. It's a great plane and one of my life's great joys is to buzz around in it. This is also the plane we fly to Cat Island.

We fly directly from here and it's a two-and-a-half to three hour flight. Here's where the indelicacy comes in. Either I have the most efficient kidneys on the planet or I have a bladder the size of a peanut. Or both. Four-seater airplanes don't come equipped with heads and when the urge strikes and I'm 10,000 feet above the open Atlantic, I have no option but to hold it until we land. Few things unsettle me more than a full bladder and no way to relieve it. Before too long, water bottles and travel mugs start to look like viable means of alleviation.

We've been back often enough that Mr. Gilbert, the kind soul who works in the immigration trailer at the airfield in Cat Island, knows to let me rush past him to get to the bathroom before he stamps my passport.

Anyhow, when JD and I flew over there a month ago, we were equipped with a new tool that I lack enough superlatives to describe. It's called the Travel John and here's a video that describes how it works.


Oh how they work and thank God for it. After one use I became their biggest fan. These things are fantastic and I can now say without hesitation that I will never set foot on a small plane without a supply of Travel Johns again.

15 comments:

  1. Read your post and watched the video twice and I am still not sure how to respond.

    Dare I say; U.F.O. Sightings (an increase in reports), Flying Projectiles (can be dangerous) and Water Balloons (bombs away) came to mind. :)

    Sorry Paul. -Brenda-

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  2. I just use a mason jar.

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  3. Well that's the beauty of these things. They turn liquid waste into a biodegradeable solid instantly. There's nothing to spill as would be the problem with a mason jar. Since there's nothing to spill, you just close the top of the bag when you're done and throw it away once you're back on land. Brilliant!

    Oh and the top of the bag has a collar that's supposedly designed to make these things unisex. I can only speak for my half, but they work great for men. We'll need a woman's perspective on this. Either of you two want to volunteer?

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  4. Paul you have used them, I haven't so I shall take YOUR word for it but I sure wud like to know what 'anti-microbial agents' they use.....which turns urine to gel. (I don't mean to sound like a skeptic.....just curious.)

    As far as me volunteering; ONLY if it means I get to go to the Bahamas in JD's plane.
    -Brenda-

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  5. It's some kind of a granular material that absorbs water instantly. Sort of like the packs of silica gel that come with shoes and other leather goods. The anti-microbial agents are copper sulfite and or silver nitrite. The same things Silestone puts in their counters under the name "Microban."

    You're up for a flight in a small plane? Brava! Too many people are spooked by them but they are the only way to get the real sensation of flight.

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  6. Have a very young nephew who is a pilot and during his flight training had the opportunity to fly with him in a small aircraft. I am not particularly fond of them, but I'd make an exception. :)

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  7. Oh, thank you for the specs on 'the agent'. My curiosity is fulfilled!
    -Brenda-

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  8. You know me by now Brenda, I'm the answer guy. It's a curse.

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  9. Paul, you are too funny. I come here looking for kitchen inspiration and this is what i get !! I LOVE IT!! I know someone else with the bladder the size of a peanut (still LOL)and NOT ME.. I am more of a camel..

    we'll chat soon
    Vitania

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  10. Hee hee! I'm glad I could provide a laugh. At this stage of the game, there's enough kitchen inspiration in my archives that I get to horse around on weekends. Besides, I suppose these things could be construed to fit into the "bath" part of "kitchen and bath designer," the name of my noble profession.

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  11. Being female, one never knows if it's going to come out nice and neat in a stream, or spray in all directions. Maybe that's a problem specific to me. Anyway, it would be tough, but I think it would work if you were desperate enough. If I were on a private plane bound for paradise, I'd make do with anything!

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  12. I know, having to pee while doing the Bahamian bush pilot thing is a pretty good problem to have.

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  13. Since I am all about function, I give it a thumbs up. What a catchy name.

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  14. In this case Susan, the form's pretty clever too. They should be called "God sends" if you ask me. Hah!

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  15. ahahaha! I like Melody's comment - nice and neat or spray everywhere?! Still, this human style travel kitty litter is genius. I only wish I'd thought of it first. *runs to pack kitty litter for next travel adventure*

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