Despite assuming “The Thinker” position at least a couple times a day, the average person probably rarely ponders that our toilets signal how far we’ve come as a species. Our nearest relations in the animal world fling their feces at each other. Meanwhile, we are meticulously planning for the toilets of tomorrow.

There are a few notable designs that have stood out from the rest.

The “wellbeing toilet” is a prototype that was designed as part of a contest put on by Dyno-Rod Drains. The idea was to create a toilet that would both improve the health of humans and be good for the environment. Sam Sheard, Pierre Papet, and Victor Johansson of University of Arts London won with their simplistic design. The model would be an improvement over the more traditional “sitting” toilets found in the Western hemisphere. It turns out they are designed completely wrong for the purpose they were made for. Additionally, the wellbeing toilet would be designed to analyze your body’s waste to decipher your current health.

Toilet of the future? You might want to sit down for this wellbeing toilet. (ﾉﾟοﾟ)ﾉ No thanks！ http://t.co/CtvujlnNe1

— ぐるぐる♪グルグル♪ (=・ω・=) (@nekosuke0828) December 7, 2013

It sounds like a winner, but before dubbing this potential toilet heir apparent to the ivory throne, there are some other prototypes that could be very popular one day.

The Kohler Numi will likely be the potty of choice among the elite. It can warm your feet and can lift or lower the seat automatically based on motion-detection technology. If you happen to have $6,400 lying around, you can take elegantly stylish craps in your uber modern mansion.

TOTO means business when it comes to toilets, having already released a model that is Wifi enabled and capable of reading urine samples. At this rate, future models will come with virtual reality video games that allow you to pretend you are a race car driver or WWII pilot. And no one will ever leave the bathroom or accomplish anything.

Whatever the choice toilet of the future looks like, one can only hope it’s ergonomic, technologically savvy….and self-cleaning.

Image: Wikimedia Commons