Another from the Belgium files: a toilet made by the actual Crapper company. This was at the Horta House — an art nouveau building in central Brussels. Growing up, we had a toilet with a pull-chain like this (not as pretty as this one, but same idea). It was satisfying to give the thing a good tug. I hadn’t seen anything similar in a long time. Is there someone out there working towards figuring out a way to make toilet-flushing exciting again?

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I’m back in the US now but thought I’d post this photo I took last week in Belgium. This was a glass-encased display of obsolete objects in the train station in Brugge. I think it was some kind of ad for a youth hostel. I didn’t really get it then. I don’t really get it now. Nevertheless, I love it.

This postcard is…obsolete!

(And, no, my finger isn’t dirty. It’s ink-stained. Happens sometimes when I use my fountain pen. Yes, I use a fountain pen. But few people seem to notice it when I whip it out in public…they’re more interested in looking at the phonograph player I keep balanced on my shoulder…).

Obsolete: Good teeth?

I’m in Brussels and just saw this on a street corner. For years, parents have spent fortunes to make sure that their children have good teeth. Now, for just one Euro, your child can reverse all of that. Don’t you love kids?

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