Why would even Germaphobes buy this?

If you are a germaphobe, you should know that the floor AROUND the toilet is far less sanitary than the handle. Especially if you have children.

Wouldn't it be smarter to just buy a can of lysol and spray the handle before you use it?

I would think that a germaphobe would install a motion or light sensor instead....or maybe keep their bathroom super clean in the first place.
This is just lazyness at its best.
I can imagine kids just hitting this thing all the time while pretending to drive.

Why would Germaphobes buy it?

You hit it with your foot, which has already been in contact with the floor around the toilet. You're not reaching down with your hands, geniuses.

It's not lazy either, foot peddles were fairly popular in Europe for a time but limited to the wealthy or nicer hotels.

If you let your kids play in the bathroom then buying a helpful tool to make your time in the bathroom more sanitary seems like a waste to me. The $12 would be better spent on a gas torch to clean off all the door knobs in your house.

Christ, the internet is turning into a collaborative circle jerk of unimaginative morons eager to make condescending comments on everything they see.

@MatthiasF

Thanks for pointing out to the rest of us that you use your foot for this and not our hands.
We all must have missed that point. ;-)

Besides, if it was that great and popular in Europe...why was it used only by nice hotels or the wealthy? And only for a short time?
Did Europeans realize too that its actually easy to use the original handle?

As for letting the kids play in the bathroom...
Its not like I meant as a playground, but kids will be kids and have active imaginations.
It's their nature to find something interesting and play with it...dirty or not.

You are right though...I was a little harsh on the lazy comment, but it was in referrence to the articles tone.

But clearly your choice of calling us unimaginative morons eager to make condescending comments kind of puts you into that same group. Welcome!

The foot peddles I mentioned were installed into the floor or wall beside the toilet. Some were brass peddles like the one above, while others were small knobs poking out of the floor you'd press down.

It's more costly to do this, hence why only the wealthy and nicer hotels had them. Some even had foot peddles for the faucet.

I've long thought touching the toilet flush and then the faucet handles before washing your hands was pretty disgusting. Obviously, others felt the same way and some had the money to get around it. I think $13 is a pretty good deal considering.

And yes, while I know it's a cliche often abused by sitcoms that kids love to play on toilets, wouldn't the child be better off kicking a foot peddle than handling the flush valve? If the kid's going to play with something, you'd think a parent would want them to have a safer option.

Anyway, I apologize for the swat, but when someone finds a way to take a luxury and adapt it cheaply for the masses, I don't take kindly to the ignorant chastising it for no good reason.