# The Big Idea **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 14, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311 "2006-03-14T14:10:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/1 "2006-03-14T14:10:18Z")
Alright, so living with 4 other guys in a 2 bathroom house can be harrowing. Especially on an evening where beans were on the menu. We make liberal use of the ventilation fans in our bathrooms, but many a time I’ve woken up to find that the last user of a bathroom left the fan on after they left, and then it ended up staying on all night. So here it is. Here’s how I’m going to be rich and famous. All I need is a very simple circuit with a timer. If your bathroom light is on, and the fan is on, it remains on indefinitely. However if the fan is switched on and the light is turned off, the timer triggers and it runs for 5 minutes before turning the circuit off and flipping the switch back to the off position. Get it? You see it? This is world changing. This is a Home Depot must! I’ll be in Lowes! I’ll be in Home Depot! I’ll be Wal Mart! Now to just figure out where to market the idea… So how about you guys? You got any big ideas? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/2 "2006-03-14T14:26:59Z")
Wait… y’all eat beans but then go off and fart into a bathroom fan? Oh, the fan is pointed at someone, right? ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/3 "2006-03-14T14:44:23Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Wait… y’all eat beans but then go off and fart into a bathroom fan? > > Oh, the fan is pointed at someone, right? Humph. Kids these days, eh **lieu**? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/4 "2006-03-14T15:02:54Z")
When we had beans and roommates, it later sounded like an ammo cache had caught fire. Whadda you think, **Winston** , maybe there is hope for this generation. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/5 "2006-03-14T15:05:49Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > When we had beans and roommates, it later sounded like an ammo cache had caught fire. > > Whadda you think, **Winston** , maybe there is hope for this generation. We were breaking out our lighters for the ol’ _blue flames_. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/6 "2006-03-14T18:48:18Z")
Sorry, the only way I can parse the OP is “I’m a fan of farts!”. Any other construction just doesn’t make sense. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/7 "2006-03-14T19:25:51Z")
> [@ronincyberpunk](#): > > I’ll be Wal Mart! You do NOT want to be Wal-Mart. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/8 "2006-03-14T19:34:23Z")
I think you’d be better off inventing something to make farts smell better. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/9 "2006-03-14T19:59:01Z")
Yes, something beyond _Cream of Mushroom Soup_ but we’ll understand if you don’t make it all the way to _Buttered Popcorn_. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/10 "2006-03-14T19:59:54Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Wait… y’all eat beans but then go off and fart into a bathroom fan? > > Oh, the fan is pointed at someone, right? Don’tcha all wish you knew Lieu back in his college days? ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-idea/348311/11 "2006-03-14T20:08:14Z")
It’s not exactly the same thing, but they do make a timer switch that would turn the fan off after a certain amount of time. You don’t flick the switch. Rather you turn the dial and it can be a time anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. The electricity flows for that amount of time then it turns off. It’s kind of like the timer on your clothes dryer.