One-in-five people drop their phones into the toilet according to a Plaxo study. The PooPerch mission is to cut down on accidents and potentially save millions in damage costs with a shelving unit for your toilet paper holder. And PooPerch hoped crowdfunding would get this potty-time shelf to the masses.
But it’s gonna cost $30 dollars. Here’s how the product is pitched:
PooPerch is clever bathroom accessory that hangs under any standard toilet paper holder and provides a convenient, safe shelf for your phone. With PooPerch, any small items in your hands or pocket can instead just be placed on a stable easy-to-reach shelf, securely removed from the risk of sudden toilet drowning.
My first point of contention with this product is that the shelf encourages people to put their phone away. Why not keep it in your purse or pocket? Isn’t the problem that people enjoy using their phones while taking care of business? Why would you attempt to incentive people putting their phone down with a $30 shelf? In all likelihood, the shelf will be ignored.
Also, aren’t you more likely to leave your items behind in the bathroom if you incentive people putting their pocket-belongings on a shelf and off of their bodies? All around, this product, while well-intended, is dumb.
And the internet has not taken kindly to PooPerch. Coverage from both Mashable and CNET did little to raise funds. The TP shelf has raised $321 of the $8000 goal.
For these reasons, I think PooPerch deserves a courtesy flush.