20 Everyday Objects Designed Completely Differently Outside the US

Water and exposed-looking electrical equipment are two things Americans are taught not to combine, which makes a Brazilian bathroom fixture particularly startling on first sight. Instead of piping hot water from a central heater, millions of homes warm it right at the showerhead using a powerful electric resistance element. Turn on the flow and the unit heats the water as it passes through. The approach keeps installation relatively inexpensive because a house does not need the same hot-water infrastructure, although it places a large electrical load on the grid when people shower. Research has estimated these units in well over 70 percent of Brazilian households, with even higher penetration in several major regions.