High Tech Art Hits Euro Coins and Toilets

Those clever Dutch have minted a coin that changes what you see on the tail side depending on the angle of view. As if we didn't have enough trouble with foreign money, eh? And Visitors to Britain will have a new street toilet to line up for. Enclosed in glass, it just might be the bashful bladder's revenge on the intrepid tourist.

The Royal Dutch Mint announced a new 10 Euro coin this week, featuring the portraits of Princess Catharina-Amalia as well as her parents on the tail of the "Birth Coin" Euro--unique in that the portraits change with viewing angle [see the mpg demo]. The Princess is second in line to the Dutch throne. And speaking of thrones...

An artsy bathroom, across from the Tate Museum in London, was constructed as a cube of one-way glass (can you ever be absolutely sure?) and uses a sterile stainless steel prison toilet and sink as the working parts inside, according to the article in MSNBC. I'm not sure, but I don't think there's been a review by the artist's peers. (Oh, the artist was Italian-born Monica Bonvicini.)

If you're interested in the above, you might be interested in Toilets of the World as well. Or you may want to find info on the Euro and other Money Matters. Nils Jeppe collects Euros and has lots of pictures of the various national backsides (of the coins I mean) and there is also a money museum in Frankfort you can visit that won't even cost you a single Euro.