如廁聲音太尷尬？日本用森林之聲來掩蓋
去別人家做客時借用衛生間，在裏面answer the call of the nature的時候，又擔心聲音太響，很尷尬？不用擔心，日本已經發明出完美的遮音工具“聲音裝飾家”，這種設備可以在你如廁的時候發出大森林的美妙聲音，不僅可以完全遮蓋掉你的小便聲，還能讓你感到放鬆。
Japan is known as the most polite nation on Earth, and that extreme politeness extends to all aspects of life, including bathroom etiquette. Many public toilets feature a wall-mounted device that, when pressed, creates a sound that masks that of urination. However, electronics company Roland has come up with an improved version that drowns out embarrassing bathroom noises completely.
日本號稱是全球最有禮貌的國家，這種極度的禮貌滲透到日本人生活的方方面面，如廁禮儀也不例外。日本許多公廁的牆上都有一種裝置，按下按鈕就可以發出一種聲音來掩蓋小便聲。電子樂器製造商羅蘭公司日前研發出了一種改良版馬桶，可以完全蓋過令人尷尬的如廁聲音。
Before the technology boom of the 1980s, toilet users would either flush the toilet or turn on a sink to mask the sounds they made when relieving themselves. However, as this was a needless waste of water, a more eco-friendly solution was sought, and thus the concept of the toilet sound generator was born. The most famous of the resulting devices, developed and manufactured by toilet brand Toto, is the Otohime (literal translation – “sound princess”). These devices resolved the water waste issue but only partially efficient in making people comfortable in the toilet, because the sound they generated didn’t do a perfect job of masking the embarassing noises. Luckily, a better solution is now available to them.
在20世紀80年代技術蓬勃發展之前，如廁的人會用衝馬桶的水聲或打開水龍頭來蓋過小便的聲音。然而，由於這種做法是無謂的浪費水資源，人們開始尋找更爲環保的方法，於是廁所發聲器應運而生。最著名的廁所發聲器名爲“音姬”（直譯是“聲音公主”），由馬桶品牌Toto研發和生產。這種設備解決了浪費水的問題，但也只是稍微讓人在廁所裏感到舒服一些，因爲這種發聲器產生的聲音並不能完美地掩蓋令人尷尬的聲音。幸運的是，現在已經有了更好的解決方案。
Japanese homeware brand Lixil has partnered with instrument maker Roland to address the sensitive issue of bathroom noises. They’ve created a new device called the “Sound Decorator”, which, unlike current solutions that only try to mask noises by emitting another sound, generates a pattern that makes the original sound less audible altogether. They achieved this by engineering a sound with a similar but stronger wavelength to that of urination, and, through what is known as the “auditory masking” effect, they were able to neutralize the weaker wavelengths and thus cancel out the unwanted noise.
日本家居用品品牌驪住集團和樂器製造商羅蘭公司合作，共同解決如廁聲音的敏感問題。他們聯手研發了一款名爲“聲音裝飾家”的新設備，與目前的通過發出另一個聲音來掩蓋如廁聲音不同，這種設備發出的聲音會讓如廁聲音幾乎聽不見。他們通過編輯出一種和小便聲音波長相近但更強的聲音，利用“聽覺掩蓋”效應，就能削弱波長較弱的小便聲，從而消除不想要的聲音。
When the device is activated, it evokes a serene forest, with a babbling brook and the chirping of songbirds. As Lixil’s press release says, “We brought the equipment up to the mountains and recorded many samples such as wild bird’s chirping. You can taste relaxation with the sound that makes the image of the forest.”
當設備被激活時，就會發出寧靜的森林之聲，包括小溪的潺潺流水聲和黃鶯的啁啾聲。如驪住集團的新聞稿所寫的：“我們將設備帶到高山上，錄下了很多音頻樣本，比如野鳥的叫聲。這種聲音可以讓你感到放鬆，讓你的腦中呈現出森林的畫面。”
Lixil began selling their “Sound Decorator” systems from February 1st, but the devices are only available in Japan. There are two versions available, one that is activated by a motion sensor when the user waves their hand close to the panel, and the other which automatically generates the sound when someone approaches the toilet.
驪住集團從2月1日開始出售“聲音裝飾家”系統，但是這種設備只在日本有售。目前有兩種版本，一種是通過用戶在控制面板附近揮手，觸發運動傳感器來激活，另一種是在用戶接近馬桶時自動發出聲音。
The hand operated version costs 21,800 Yen, and the automatic version costs 32,800 Yen.
手動版價格爲21800日元（合1248元人民幣），自動版價格爲32800日元（合1877元人民幣）
There is no word yet on whether the technology will expand to include the infinitely more embarrassing noises produced by gas and defecation.
該技術的覆蓋範圍是否會進一步擴展，來掩蓋放屁和排便這些更尷尬的聲音，目前還沒有相關消息。
