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Visiting family and friends here in Germany over the last 14 days, I ran across 2 practical inventions, which struck me as quite odd.
As I’ve never seen any of them before in Asia, I naturally assumed that some crazy German came up with the idea.
After all, can you imagine a true-blue American or Australian BBQ Fanatic inventing something to simplify their favorite past-time – the BBQ experience?
BBQ is a science in itself. But there is always room for improvement.
Check out those pictures:
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The first invention is – you probably guessed it – a disposable BBQ grill. What a neat gadget!
No need to carry a huge steel grill or kettle, bring a sack of charcoal or a bottle of gas, or any other BBQ accessories.
You don’t need to clean the grill after the successful BBQ, simply roll it together and throw it in the trash. To lighten the charcoal, you won’t need spirit or other igniting liquids. Simply light the paper over the charcoals. It is soaked with some burning agent and will melt into the charcoal below, helping to get a slow-glowing set of coals.
Also no dirty hands during the whole process!
The whole gadget is built from a stronger silver foil, filled with charcoal and topped with a small grate.
It is called “Picknick Grill” here in Germany and costs anything between 0.99 Euro and 2.99 Euro, although my friends mentioned that not all brands are the same quality.
I can assure anyone who is sceptical, that this thing really works! In case this is old news for you and you used a BBQ grill like that already, bear with me – I’m simply excited learning about a new and easy way to BBQ. 
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The second invention is something completely different and not related to food at all.
Actually it is about the complete opposite. So stop continue reading, if you still have a watering mouth – imagining some barbecued meat balls, a delicious steak and especially tasty sausages.
Driving with a bicycle around the small town here, I noticed a pink installation.
Check out this picture to the left.
What can that be? Oh no! It’s called a ‘Dog Toilet’.
Although it’s nothing where our 4-legged friends can go to do their small or big business, it’s more an invention for the dog’s owner. You can pull out small plastic bags here to pick up your dog’s fallout.
Here in Germany there are serious fines, if you walk your dog through town and leave its droppings lying around.
So not everyone is carrying a disposable bag and a shovel to big up those dog sausages. With the ‘Dog Toilet’ you have no excuse anymore. Simply get a plastic bag there, use it like a glove to pickup your dog’s business and dispose of the plastic bag in said pink installation.
Easy, isn’t it?
The positive effect is that you don’t see many dog droppings lying around town. So all in all it seems the ‘Dog Toilet’ has its uses and most dog owners behave as advertised.
Maybe some business idea to use in Asia also? In most countries here (maybe with the exception of Singapore) you have plenty of dog poo lying around, unfortunately mainly from stray dogs. So I’m not so sure at all, if there would be any change at all.
Maybe you have to combine the system with organized dog catchers, to reduce the numbers of strays and fine all dog owners, if they let their pets litter the streets with their waste. Sounds complicated.
Oh my! What kind of problems!
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May 14th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Yeah, I’ve been excited too when I’ve seen those disposable BBQs the first time, but as here in Italy they do cost between 5,99 and 9,99 Euros I never gave them a try…
May 15th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Hi Chris – You know, in Manila there are roadside places where men can urinate, basically just a screen that he can stand behind, and they are pink just like the color of that doggie toilet!
May 15th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Jurgen, ah so they sell them everywhere now? But yeah, above 5 Euro it’s quite expensive. Hm.
Mindanao Bob, are you serious, even in Manila? Hah! That’s an interesting concept, but why do I feel that it doesn’t come with proper sewage system attached. But hey, as long as it’s only urine…
May 16th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Hey Chris – There is NO sewage system. You go behind the pink screen and pee, it just goes on the sidewalk! Not joking, this is really true!
May 16th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
BTW, not sure why, but your plugin alwasy thinks I’m in Australia! I’m in Davao City, Philippines! :))
May 16th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Mindanao Bob, I know I know, the plugin isn’t perfect, but it sure looks good. It guesses your location based on the IP range you’re using. Sometimes it can’t guess right at all, for instance it can’t figure out, that I’m currently in Singapore (then no flag is showing). It depends on the internet provider as well and on their backbone connection to the ‘real internet’. So your ISP probably connects via an Australian IP range. But around 90% of the time it is pretty accurate.
And many thanks for the explanation how that pink screen works. Yikes! :D
Few more days and I will be finally landing somewhere on Negros…currently only standby with the site here…
May 19th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Mindanao Bob, I didn’t see that I really was using an old version of the plugin. Even though there isn’t a newer version than Version 0.91 from 06/2008, I was using an even older one (0.9 from 10/2006). As it didn’t show in the plugin list as outdated, I never came around using the newer version. So that made all the difference and even the old comments are now fixed correctly – or so it seems for now. Happy! :D
May 20th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Hi Chris – Wow, I’m back in the Philippines again! I was getting tired of having to travel to Australia every time I wanted to comment on your site! :))
May 31st, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Hi, Chris! In continuation of Mindanao Bob’s observation about a pink urinal in Manila, I can show you a photo of it for exact reference. Actually, I had it photographed some years ago but I didn’t find my file. So, here’s a link to a photograph posted in Treklens: http://www.treklens.com/gallery/photo37124.htm
It’s called MMDA urinal – from the ingenuity of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)…
June 1st, 2009 at 10:22 am
dodong flores, wow – so it’s really real? I saw a few guys relieving themselves directly in the streets in Manila, but didn’t see those ‘official’ urinals during my few days in Manila. Interesting concept though, just make sure where you put your feet while walking. In regard to the pet toilet above; who copied from whom then.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Mindanao Bob: Here in San Pedro United they dont bother with a screen. Any wall or Jeepney tire will do! Outside our Tapsilogan one day I counted over 8 people p….ing on the wall on the other side of the road. And we are in the main thoroughfare.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Mark, that was then something like a toilet gathering? I wasn’t aware that men like to do that together as well…
September 7th, 2009 at 5:09 am
Hey that that emergency dog toilet is pretty cool
Well, at least cooler than doggy Poh-poh…
But why they put it in pink? Is it only for girlie-doggies or what?! Don´t tell me that there is another blue one for the male-dogs
cheers,
Tom
July 12th, 2010 at 10:22 am
In University, my roommates and I made a similar grill invention when we were craving a good steak. As budget students we bought a turkey pan, charcoal, lighter fluid, and cleaned the oven grate to put the steaks on. One of the best ideas ever for those of us without the luxury of a BBQ. The steaks turned out great. Rice and peas for carbs, and stir-fry veg, and we were eating like royalty.
July 15th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
So its an universal invention then? Ah! Okay, even better then!
June 14th, 2011 at 12:31 am
Fresh site btw
Those grills Are total drap if u Ask me, but ill admit theyll cook Hotdogs on the odd day ok though 