Flushing Toilet (Valentine Box)

My son wanted a funny Valentine box for his class party, so he made a toilet (with my help).  A toilet is not a toilet though without it's flush, so we gave it one!

You can hear for yourself, here's a quick video of my son demonstrating how his Valentine box works.

Click here if you are viewing this in a reader or through e-mail to view the video.

My kids have had a lot of fun with this and I'll admit, I have a hard time walking by it myself without giving it a quick flush, ha-ha!

I had to call around to several places before I found a pre-wired 20 second digital voice recording module at Radio Shack that I could record the flush with.   It was more than I would normally spend on an item for a Valentine box ($11.00), but since this is the last year he'll make a box, I just went for it and splurged this time.  My first idea was to use a greeting card that you can record a message to, but I couldn't find one that didn't end with a song.

Supplies:

• Pre-wired 20 second digital voice recording module from Radio Shack
• Ice cream bucket (we ended up using a round one)
• Small (white) box the size of a water tank
• Foam Board
• Packing and Duct Tape
• Scissors
• Utility Knife
• White Spray Paint
• 2 Large Bolts and Nuts (or wood to hold them in place)
• Pencil and paper to make a pattern for the lid and seat

I'm not going to go into too much detail in directions because it's pretty simple to put together when you look at the pictures, but I do have a few tips for you:  

We used paint sticks to hold the bolts in place because it's what we had that would work, nuts would work best. 

Be VERY CAREFUL when you attach the voice recording module, the wires are fragile and will break easily, so try not to move them.  You might want to tape them in place so they don't move.

The seat lid is held on with clear packing tape.  Taping it on the underside of the lid to the top of the seat will help the lid to stay up on it's own

Use the sandpaper to clean up and round the edges of the foam board.

When you record the flushing sound, hold the recorder down low (just past the seat) inside the bowl to get the best sound.  Try not to think about what you're doing.

Cut holes in the box and for the button and the speaker.  Tape the module to the inside of the box.

  

The black circle on the top of the 'tank' is the speaker.  It's taped to the box

  

My son drilled through the ice cream bucket and into the box, pushed the bolt through and then threaded it through a pre-drilled piece of wood (paint stick).  We used a scrap piece of foam board and taped it under the box as a stand so the toilet wouldn't tip back from the weight of the box.

  

I promise you this is the only time I'll ever write an entire post about a toilet, and hey, I spared you from all of the toilet jokes too!  Can't say I wasn't a little tempted to sneak a couple in though. ;)

Today's Fabulous Find...Digital Recording Module from Radio Shack 

(Without it, it would have been just another toilet box.)

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