Getting to the bottom of Innovation - in toilets

Going in style: Kohler luxury toilet costs $6,390 - Yahoo! Finance: "Toilet aficionados need look no further: A Wisconsin company is promising 'a figment of beauty and geometry' complete with piano music, feet warmers and a heated seat -- if you're willing to flush out nearly $6,400.

Kohler Co. is preparing to release its new high-end Numi toilet, which was four years in the making and offers a slew of comfort amenities. The company describes its latest throne as 'the ultimate flushing experience.'

Fighting about who left the seat up? Not anymore. The Numi automatically closes and raises the adjustable-height toilet cover when it senses your presence. If you'd like, it can greet you with the sound of rushing water and soothing piano music.

Too dark in the bathroom? Also not a problem. A night light in the bidet guides you to the heated seat. And if your feet are cold, a floor-level vent blows warm air to keep your toes toasty.

If you might be a while and forget the newspaper sports page, fear not: plug in your iPod or turn on the built-in FM radio. Then a charcoal-filter deodorizer will keep the air fresh, and the bidet offers an array of options for temperature, water pressure and even spray pattern.

Depending on how long you've been sitting, the Numi will flush with a 0.6-gallon or 1.28-gallon flow. Between jobs it bombards bacteria with a 45-minute dose of germ-killing ultraviolet light.

The Numi costs $6,390 plus installation and will be available in the fall in the U.S. and Asia.

"It is our most advanced toilet," product manager Mike Marbach told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "At Kohler Co., we are always trying to be on the leading edge, and this product is really a blend of leading-edge technology and leading-edge design, and not sacrificing one for the other."

Marbach said toilets with bidets are more widely embraced in Asia, "but it's definitely a trend we see in the U.S. that's growing," he said..."