英語學習點: Toilet Vocabulary 有關廁所的詞匯

Up until now, a trip to the toilet for most men has been limited in its potential for entertainment. Standing at the urinal there's not much to do but stare blankly at the wall tiles, whistle and relieve oneself.

But for those who can't bear the boredom any more, a British company has developed a product that fills a gap in the market – a urine-controlled games console for men.

Captive Media thinks it's invented the first "hands-free" video game console of its kind. The device sits above the ceramic bowl at eye-height. The user has to aim his wee at one of three targets in the bottom of the bog. They're labelled "Start", "Left" and "Right". The console detects where the pee is falling by means of an infra-red device.

On offer so far are a skiing game and a multiple-choice pub quiz. When players have done their business they can use their mobile phones to post their scores on a live leader board on Twitter.

According to research by Adweek newspaper, on average men stand still to spend a penny for 55 seconds. That adds up to nine months over the course of a lifetime and a billion minutes a year. Not surprisingly, advertisers are wetting themselves at the prospect of being able use this time to target commercials at men.

"It's notoriously difficult for brands to engage a young male audience while they are out socialising. Captive Media offers a long 'dwell time'," says Gordon MacSween from the company.

Drinkaware, a charity which promotes responsible drinking, has already signed up. But it remains to be seen how many brands will be put off by the idea of being associated with calls of nature.