Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - It’s True! A toilet was used as an aerial bomb during the Vietnam War - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

US Navy photo

On November 4, 1965, some Vietnamese came across a very strange object that looked as if it had been dropped from the sky. Was it a bomb? Well, it had tail fins and a nose like a bomb. But it was white, and shaped like – a toilet?

It was a toilet in fact. It had been dropped by a VA-25 A-1 Skyraider on a mission to the Mekong Delta in South Vietnam. It had come from Dixie Station, an aircraft carrier base in the South China Sea. The plane’s pilot was CDR Clarence ‘Bill’ Stoddard.

As Stoddard approached his target, he began preparations for attack. He read the ordnance (list of weapons the aircraft carried) to Forward Air Control. At the end of the list, he read ‘and one codenamed Operation Sani-flush.’ What was Stoddard talking about?

US Navy Photo

The story of the toilet drop was told by Captain Clint Johnson, the pilot of another VA-25 A-1 Skyraider. The toilet was a damaged one that was going to be thrown overboard anyway. But some plane captains decided to rescue it, dress it up to look like a bomb, and drop it in commemoration of the 6 million pounds of ordnance that had been dropped by the U.S. Air Force. The Air Control team said it made a whistling sound as it came down, and that it had almost struck the plane as it came off. A film was made of the drop using a video camera mounted on the wing.

Just as the toilet was being shot off, Johnson said,’ we got a 1MC message from the bridge, “What the hell was on 572’s right wing?” There were a lot of jokes with air intelligence about germ warfare. I wish that we had saved the movie film.’

When the Vietnam War began the Douglas A-1 Skyraider, which had been introduced into the U.S. Air Force in 1946, was still being used. It was a medium attack aircraft based on an aircraft carrier. There were plans to replace the Skyraider with the A-6A Intruder jet-engine attack aircraft. Nevertheless, Skyraiders participated in the naval attack on North Vietnam on 5th August 1964, as part of Operation Pierce Arrow. They struck enemy fuel depots at Vinh, where one Skyraider was damaged, and another was lost.

By 1973, all U.S. Skyraiders had been transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force. The A-6A Intruder replaced it as America’s principal medium attack aircraft.

source: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/vietnam-war/its-true-a-toilet-was-used-as-an-aerial-bomb-during-thevietnamwar.html

by Jack

http://www.thisoldtoilet.com

Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - Retirement can be filled with Passion! - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

Gary Tjader came on my radar when I broke a toilet tank lid.

Yes. That pesky piece which one doesn’t appreciate until it slips from your hand, breaks and you are forced to look at replacing.

I started calling local plumbers. Apparently replacing JUST the lid is a bit complicated. OK. Virtually impossible. They are eager to replace the toilet (which comes with a lid and a hefty price tag,) but just the lid? Sorry, can’t help. So I went to Google. And I found Gary.

Chances are, Gary even has one of these golden toilet lids somewhere.

Gary’s website, www.toilettanklids.com, is an entire website devoted to, yes, you guessed it: toilet tank lids! What fascinated me about his website was not only the volume, style, and array of lids Tjader carries from his Los Altos, California shop but his ENTHUSIASM for toilet tank lids. I mean, this man is EXCITED about his product! Gary’s early career as a salesman for a plumbing parts supplier caused him to stumble across a need. He often fielded phone calls from consumers looking for a replacement toilet tank lid. It didn’t take long for Gary to know what would provide a nice retirement income: fill this need and someone will pay you for it. Tjader narrowed his expertise to toilet tank lids and the hunt was on!

Even a heap of trash bearing a couple of tank lids became a gold mine during one Lake Tahoe ski vacation, says Tjader, who collects 20 to 40 lids per month. He knows the history of lids, has identified the rare (and rare-er!) ones, and provides more education about lids than you ever thought you wanted to know. What are they made of? (Vitreous China) How much do they weigh? (An average of 10 lbs.) What colors do they come in? ( Dozens. More than you ever imagined.) Gary is so deep in toilet tank knowledge that he even has a toilet trivia page to enjoy..well, while you’re on the toilet. (Myth debunked: Sir Thomas Crapper did NOT invent the toilet.) Tjader says he does make a living at selling lids but he also loves the “game”, the “touchdown” feeling of finding that elusive lid.

Why is this important? Because most of us live a lifetime doing SOMETHING but rarely get to devote time to doing THE THING that spurs our passion. There is an emptiness which follows when that predictable something winds down. It is often replaced with a subtle fear that the best of your life is behind you; that your very significance was attached to that thing and is lost in the retiring.

Take a moment to remember that passion that may have lain dormant for years or explored only in the rare moments you could claim as your own. It may even be difficult to remember what it was. Maybe now is the time. Rethink Retirement. Perhaps retirement can mean the retiring of the ‘have-to’s ‘ and the commencing of the want to’s. The time not spent with your hand to the grindstone could be spent with your hand to the paint brush or the classroom or the telescope.

Most of us live a lifetime doing SOMETHING but rarely get to devote time to doing THE THING that spurs our passion.

What is your passion? What breadth of knowledge have you collected over a lifetime? What is the subject that gets you excited enough that you could devote a web page of multiple links or moderate a discussion group? Take an internal audit. Rather than mourn the loss of a child-centered life or job-centered routine, celebrate the gift of time. Time to pursue and research; time do meet and do; time to go and explore. Then share. Share your knowledge, share your discoveries, share your talent. Gary Tjader is arguably the most knowledgeable man on the planet in toilet tank lids – which leads to his offering this piece of advice for retirees looking for that “next thing”: build on your base of knowledge for the greatest chance at success. Gary’s success comes from decades in the field, but his passion is fueled by a genuine interest in the product.

In the words of Billy Joel: “You can be what you want. Or you can just be old.” None of us want to ‘just be old’ – we want to maintain the vitality and spark that come with maturity, experience, and excitement in our unique brand of knowledge, skill, and abilities. And, as Gary showed me, it is not the item of specific interest that matters; it is the enthusiasm for SOMETHING that draws others to you.

source: http://www.downsizecolumbus.com/retirement-can-be-filled-with-passion/

by Kathy Chiero

http://www.thisoldtoilet.com

Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - A Very Unique Use of a Toilet Seat - New TV Tray? - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

The new TV tray for the family room

http://www.thisoldtoilet.com

Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - So You Dropped Your Phone in the Toilet, Now What? - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

From Popular Mechanics

So your precious iPhone or Android just had an unexpected encounter with a body of liquid-maybe the toilet, or the sink, or the local pond. Is everything lost? Or is there hope to recover your data and/or get everything back in working order?

Here's what you can do to get the situation under control.

What to do right away

First of all, don't panic-while iPhones aren't officially waterproof, they can withstand a certain amount of water torture (especially the later models). Some Android phones, like the latest Samsung Galaxy phones, actually are billed as waterproof, so if you have one of those you might be in no trouble at all. Either way, the first step is to turn off your handset then dry it off with a clean cloth or towel first to assess the damage. Pop out your SIM card too, just to minimize the risk of it getting affected.

It may be that your iPhone turns back on and actually works fine after a quick dry and an hour or two sitting on a table top, and it's definitely worth trying this first before attempting anything more exotic.

Hair dryers, microwaves and chargers are no nos, because of the risk of extra corrosion or heat-related damage to the phone. While some sources recommend sticking your phone in a bag of rice to draw out the moisture, many others (including local repair shops we spoke to) say this doesn't work and can actually harm your phone further.

If the damage is light and you think you can dry the iPhone out yourself, the key is to do it as naturally as possible and while the phone is powered off and with the battery out, should it happen to be removable. Think towels, clean cloths and warm spaces. When you think all of the moisture has dissipated, then turn your phone back on and assess the damage.

The newest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models, while still not fully waterproof, are rated to withstand half an hour in water at depths up to a meter, so if you're quick and you've got one of these handsets, you should be okay.

What to do after that

If your phone still won't turn on, or is behaving in any sort of unusual way, it's time to go a little further. Years of testing across the internet seems to have singled out silica gel or silica cat litter seems to be the best serious-business drying agent in most cases-if you can get hold of a few packets, put them together with your iPhone in a ziplock bag and leave for a day or two.

Photo credit: Scott Brown / Flickr

Silica packets are often included with shipped electronics for this very reason, but it's still open to debate whether it's actually more effective than leaving them to dry out in the open air. It's certainly a better idea than using rice, though the aim is the same: drawing out the lingering moisture from your iPhone.

If you've having no luck with your DIY methods of cleaning, then a reputable repair shop should be your next port of call. Naturally, you wound up here in hopes of avoiding an expensive repair bill but these places have equipment and expertise that's worth calling on and which you can't easily replicate on your kitchen table.

Photo credit: LoveFone

source: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/dropped-phone-toilet-now-192025950.html

by David Nield

http://www.thisoldtoilet.com