It might be something that you miss unless it's pointed out to you. Next time you go to a public bathroom, take a look before you sit down on the toilet seat. You won't see a circle shape, but something designed not connected in the front part: a U.

    This is an open-front toilet seat, and thanks to the American Standard National Plumbing (水管装置) Technology, it's the go-to for most public restrooms. This technology was created in 1955 and further developed by the Uniform Plumbing Technology in 1973, according to Mental Floss.

    As to the plumbing rules which fit water seats, the first two requirements are as follows:

    Toilet seats shall be of smooth, non-absorbed material.

    All Toilet seats, except those within apartment units, shall be either of the open front type or have an automatic seat cover.

    This part of the rules also clears up why you won't meet fur toilet seats in truck stop bathrooms. The reason for both of these rules comes down to health. With an open front, there's less surface area that can make incidental touch with your private regions. But what about the toilet seat covers you can use? Unfortunately, those don't offer as much protection against bacteria as you think they do.

    They were also designed with women in mind, according to Lynne Simick, the senior vice president of technology development at IAPMO. The open front of the seat is fairly good for women.

Now that you know why the public toilet seat is shaped the way it is, learn which one is the cleanest you can use.

    Gift buying for 11 to 14-year-olds can produce memories of that classic complainer. “This gift is too old.” “This gift is too young.” “This gift was popular, like, five minutes ago.” Don't stress. Our fun gifts are sure to make you smile.

—Judy Sutton Taylor

    Snowball Launcher

The kids on your list will be happy to drop their electronic devices and head outside during the next big snowstorm thanks to this gift that launches snowballs up to 70 feet. A practice target is included to ensure they're ready for a hard battle. $16.97 at amazon.com

    Nintendo Switch

    Gamers went crazy for this mixed gaming system when it was released last spring, and it was in consistently short supply until now. The device allows users to play solo or with a friend, connect it to a TV to play on a big screen, unfold the stand for tabletop competitions, or use it for hand-held play. $299.99; links to licensed retailers at nintendo.com or amazon.com

Mertritte Animal Headphone

    Tunes will no doubt sound sweeter to lovers of any music genre when they5re coming from these cute-as-can-be headphones designed by celebrity stylists Emily Current and Merritt Elliott. The gold finish adds some fun flare (闪光装置) that is sure to inspire copycats. $59 at pbteen.com

BBOP Balls

    If there's a more entertaining way to settle sibling differences than having warring brothers and sisters bump into each other putting on mega-sized bubble armor (盔甲), we'd like to know about it. Chances are, even what may seem like the most catastrophic conflicts will end in belly laughs after a few rounds wearing these. $69.98 for a set of two at hearthsong.com or amazon.com.

    One October morning, I got off the all-night train in Mandalay, a city in Myanmar. A rough man came up and offered to show me around. The price he asked was less than I would pay for a bar of chocolate at home. So I climbed into his trishaw(三轮车).

    As he was showing me around, he told me how he had come to the city from his village. He'd earned a degree in mathematics. His dream was to be a teacher. But of course, life is hard here, and so for now, this was the only way he could make a living. Many nights, he told me, he actually slept in his trishaw so he could catch the first visitors off the all-night train.

And very soon, we found that in certain ways, we had so much in common—we were both in our 20s, we were both fascinated by foreign cultures—-that he invited me home.

    So we turned off the wide, crowded streets, and came to rough, wild alleyways(小巷). I really lost my sense of where I was, and realized that I could easily get cheated or something even worse.

    Finally, he stopped and led me into a hut. And then he reached under his bed. Something in me froze. I waited to see what he would pull out. And finally he took out a box. Inside it was every single letter he had ever received from visitors from abroad.

    So when we said goodbye that night, I realized he had also shown me the secret point of travel, which is to go inwardly(向内心)as well as outwardly to places you would never go otherwise, to go into uncertainty, even fear.

    At home, its dangerously easy to think we're on top of things. Out in the world, you are reminded every moment that you're not, and you can't get to the bottom of things, either.

    Would you buy a car that released calming smells into the air when you are stuck in heavy traffic? Would you buy a robot that smells like a human being?

    Many people have seen the 3-D computer-made environments of virtual reality (VR). Now these virtual worlds will not just look and sound real. Researchers have created VR environments that even smell like the real things. With the new technology, users open a virtual door and step into a new environment, like a rainforest. After they enter this virtual world, special equipment releases forest-like smells into the air to make the experience seem more real.

    Suzanne Fisher-Murray said, “it is a really wonderful experience that you have because you're exploring this environment and you have smells with it.”

    In the United States, Smell-O-Vision was designed to provide smells during the showing of a movie. The Smell-0-Vision system was once popular in the 1960s. Now, Emanuela Maggioni says it is close to becoming popular again. “The connection with emotions, memories, and…the sense of smell,” Maggioni said. “It is unbelievable what we can do with technology.”

    The uses for smell technology are not just limited to films and the performing arts. Researchers showed a computer program where users could imagine themselves driving a car. The system included a special smell-spraying machine. Dmitrijs Dmitrenko said, “We want to deliver the smell of lavender（薰衣草）every time the person drives over the speed limit. We choose lavender because it's a very calming smell.”

    Scientists are experimenting with smell instead of sounds or image-based alerts on telecommunications equipment. And businesses are already using smell to influence people's behavior. “Not only.…in stores…But on the other side, you can create and stimulate immediate buying,” Maggioni said. “So you're in a library and you smell coffee and actually you are unconsciously having the need to drink a coffee.”

    I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in "Section L". I found out later that everyone called Section L "Loserville". It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

    I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that.

    Ana's texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, I had to try to make things better.

    The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

    I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn't. I was still stuck in "Loserville", and some people were still mean to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

    But what did change was me—I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

    I still miss Illinois sometimes  but life in New Jersey isn't so hard anymore. Even though I couldn't change my situation, I could change my attitude—and that made all the difference.

    It is every kid's worst nightmare(噩梦) and six-year-old Jaden Hayes has lived it twice. First he lost his dad when he was only at the age of four and then last month his mom died unexpectedly in her deep sleep.

    "I tried and I tried and I tried to get her awake, but... I just couldn't," said Jaden.

    No one could imagine how heartbroken Jaden was.

    But there's another side to his sadness. A side he first made public a few weeks ago when he told his aunt, Barbara DiCola, and now his guardian(监护人)after both his parents died, that he was sick and tired of seeing everyone sad all the time. And he had a plan to fix it.

    "And that was the beginning of it," said Barbara. "That's where the adventure began."

    Jaden asked his aunt Barbara to buy a bunch of little toys and bring him to downtown Savannah, Georgia near where he lives, so he could give them away to anyone who will smile to him. "I'm trying to make people smile," said Jaden.

    Jaden targets people who aren't already smiling and then turns their day around. He's gone out on four different occasions now and he is always successful. Even if sometimes he doesn't get exactly the reaction he was hoping for.

    It is just so overwhelming to some people that a six-year-old orphan would give away a toy -- expecting nothing in return -- except a smile.

    "I'm depending on it to be 33, 000," said Jaden. When asked if he thinks he can make that goal, he answered: "I think I can."