Once again, the Irish have come to the rescue of civilization. It's truly the nation where you can spell "progress" with a capital "pee."

What gentleman has not tired of the hours wasted over a lifetime by flushing urinals in the men's room? While it does afford a precious moment for the relieved user to compose himself for appearance in a more-public place -- and is also a clever mental distraction to those for whom "getting started" can be a problem -- it is also undeniable that a great deal of water is used with all this flushing.

And for what? Have we forgotten about a little thing called "gravity"? Fortunately, Irish scientists have not, and have come up with the non-flushing waterless urinal, which is even now being tested in the harshest possible environments: the boy's restrooms in Ireland middle schools.

According to Ortwin Reintjes of brwaterless, the company behind this amazing initiative, the average conventional urinal uses between 50,000 and 150,000 litres of water per year. Their ingenious creation? Zippo! Not only does it save money, it means that the hunt for water -- never easy in an island like Ireland that's surrounded by it and where it's always raining -- can at last come to an end.

And unlike some clunky so-called eco-friendly contraptions, the folks at brwaterless have paid attention to those who like to "go in style." You can choose from a variety of themed urinal designs: the Kalahari, the Sonora, the Borrego, the Santa Fe and the Del Casa -- all available in a rainbow of colors!

It doesn't take a rocket scientist or plumber to see the future possibilities of this Made-in-Ireland high technology. After all, is there not another "appliance" in one's lavatory that could benefit from the never-ending supply of gravity and free itself from dependence on rare and precious water?

You can bet your bottom dollar that when the next major lavatorial revolution is announced, it will be an Irish "solution"!