When American man Dave Reynolds hurt himself in the bathroom one night, he decided that no one should ever have to go through the same ordeal. So he invented the world’s first glow-in-the-dark toilet seat that can be spotted and used safely in the dark. Thanks to his creation, you don’t need to worry about fumbling with the light switch or tripping in the dark anymore.
“It eliminates the problem of not knowing where you are or where you’re going,” said Reynolds, a former employee of Virgin Records. “This could help anyone from a grandparent to children.”
He first got the idea for the unique product when he suffered a bathroom mishap shortly after moving to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 2012. “I went to the bathroom one night and literally fell off the toilet in the dark,” he recalled. “On my way down, I felt something was wrong. I bounced off the toilet, fell to the ground and halfway into the bathtub. The next morning I was all banged and bruised and I told my family what had happened and, of course, they all laughed at me.”
The next day, Reynolds called Tom Fittler – an old friend from college – and together they came up with the idea of a glowing toilet seat. They decided that it wouldn’t light up the whole room, but would “create a center point that anyone can see and get to safely.”
Once they designed a prototype, they set up a company called ‘Night Glow Seats’ to market the product. “These are not novelty items and it wasn’t meant to be a novelty item, this is a high-end seat,” Reynolds clarified. “Look at the serious side, this could prevent an elderly person from falling in the dark and hurting themselves or help a young child navigate to the bathroom in the night without being afraid.”
The white toilet seat looks like any other common seat during the day, but starts to glow at night. It comes in two colors – green and blue – and two styles – elongated and regular – and is priced at $49.99. “We decided these things would glow all night, they wouldn’t be cheap. The best thing about it is because it’s made with high-end materials, it can glow for 20 years and there’s nothing in it that fades away,” he explained.
The company has supposedly shipped seats to customers all over the world, including countries like Germany, Japan, Australia, UAE, Italy, and Malta. “We had no idea how they found out,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what language you speak or where you are, we all walk and go to the bathroom the same way.”
“I’ve seen what people spend dumb money on, but this will stay with you and you will use it every day. You won’t use it for two days and be done, you’ll use it as long as you want it or need it,” he added. “It’s a concept that can help someone. If we can help one person prevent an accident in the bathroom then it’s done its job.”
Reynolds said that his goal is to see at least one glowing seat in every home. “It’s a lofty goal, but I haven’t met anyone yet who says I’m nuts.”
Photos: Night Glow Seats
Sources: Lebanon Democrat, WBIR
