Nowadays, auto-flush motion sensor toilets are in schools, airports, hotels, and tourist spots around the world. But do you know who invented this modern convenience? The answer may surprise you. It was Teng Hung-Chi of Nantou, Taiwan, who was only 19 when he created the original sensor urinal! Teng's inspiration came in 1983 during an exhausting1 day of work as a mechanic. While using the restroom, Teng didn't want to dirty the urinal by pressing the flush button with his greasy hands. He began thinking about how to combine an infrared sensor with a water valve. Two months later, his invention was completed, and Teng sold the patent2 for 1.5 million NT dollars! Since then, Teng's creative inventions have earned him the title "Taiwan's Edison." When people discover that an appliance3 is broken, they often stop using it. Not Teng, though. Since childhood, he has enjoyed learning about such appliances by taking them apart. His curiosity and persistence4 have helped him create many quality innovations.5 For Teng, inventing is nothing more than changing the status quo. Teng's passionate interest in inventing has helped him win many prizes at the annual World Invention Contest. But behind these prestigious1 awards lie days and nights of continuous hard work. For example, in 1999, Teng's "Remote Control Pager Device" made him the first Asian winner of the Genius Prize at the Nuremberg World Invention Exhibition. This invention can control every single appliance in a building from far away! During his award acceptance speech, Teng thanked retailers in Taiwan. If Teng was inspired and needed components, he would knock on the doors of these retailers, even in the middle of the night! Their doors were always open to him. In addition to his lifelong interest in inventing things himself, Teng is also devoted to educating others about invention. The 40-year-old Teng encourages people to pursue2 fantastic notions3 and make them reality, instead of being limited by conventional4 thinking. "As long as you can endure loneliness and you never give up, becoming an inventor isn't difficult at all," Teng says. "If every school cultivated just one outstanding5 inventor, our country would definitely benefit from spectacular inventions!" -by Lily Tsai 現今，自動感應沖水馬桶在全球的學校、機場、飯店及觀光景點比比皆是。但你可知這一現代化便利設施是誰發明的嗎？答案可能會令你大吃一驚。原來這是臺灣南投人鄧鴻吉的傑作；當他發明第一座感應沖水男用小便斗時，只有十九歲而已呢！ 鄧鴻吉的靈感源自於1983年一個辛苦修車的工作日。當他使用廁所時，不想用油膩膩的黑手按沖水鈕，免得把男用小便斗弄髒了。於是他開始思考如何把紅外線感應器與水際結合在一起。兩個月後，他的發明大功告成了，該發明的專利還賣了150萬臺幣！從此以後，鄧鴻吉許多的創意發明讓他贏得了"臺灣的愛迪生"稱號。 當人們發現家電用品壞了，通常就把它放在一邊不用了。但鄧鴻吉卻不會這麼做。他從小就喜歡把壞掉的家電用品拆開，藉此瞭解內部構造。他的好奇心與堅持到底的精神使他創造出許多優質的新發明。對鄧鴻吉而言，發明不過是改變現況而已。 鄧鴻吉對發明的熱衷，使他在每年舉辦的世界發明比賽中贏得不少獎項。但在這些榮耀獎項的背後，是他日以繼夜、勤奮不懈的工作。 舉例來說，鄧鴻吉的"呼叫器遙控裝置"，使他在1999年紐倫堡世界發明展中，成爲首位榮獲天才獎的亞洲人。這項發明可以從很遠的地方遙控整座建築物中的每一樣電器呢！鄧鴻吉發表得獎感言時，特別感謝了臺灣的零售商：當他靈感來了需要零件時，就算是三更半夜，他也會去敲這些零售商的門，而零售商的門總是爲他而開着。 除了個人終其一生的發明興趣外，鄧鴻吉也積極投入發明教育。現年40歲的鄧鴻吉鼓勵人們要努力地異想天開，並讓這些想法成真，而不要受限於制式的思考模式。 "只要你能耐得寂寞，而且永不放棄，成爲一個發明家一點也不難。"鄧鴻吉說："每一所學校只要能培育出一個傑出的發明家，我們的國家一定會從多彩多姿的發明品中大獲益處！"
