April 11, 2005
Toilets: Lord of the Rings

By STEVE FRIESS

In this nation of ever-widening waistlines, it'll come as welcome news to some that there is finally a supersize toilet seat. The Big John is five inches wider than the standard 14-incher, handles more than 1,200 pounds and has a lifetime guarantee. Inventor Aitan Levy's Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based company has sold about 2,000 in six months at more than $100 a pop.

The idea came to him as he saw hefty customers browsing the showroom of his bathroom-fixtures branch in Beverly Hills. "These days we have bigger tubs, bigger cars, but we don't have bigger toilet seats?" he asks. Most clients buy the Big John-which comes in cream and white and has no cushioning-for individual homes, but Harrah's Las Vegas Hotel & Casino ordered three last week.

Peggy Howell, spokeswoman for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, applauds the product and thinks more hotels and restaurants will buy it. Still, salespeople are honing their pitch. Gigi Shinn, the showroom manager for a Big John distributor, says, "What am I supposed to do? Say, 'Well, you got a big butt, you need one of these'?"

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