Where the Term Comes From In this channel's material, Japanese toilets is one of three kinds of innovation that Nabeel Hyatt (partner at Spark Capital) borrows from Rory Sutherland to describe what he hunts for in AI products [^aadbfc77@0]. The Three Kinds of Innovation - Faster Horses — make the existing thing go faster. Most AI products out of the B2B SaaS machine are this: fine, but arbitraged out of existence.- Teleportation — the thing everyone wants instantly once described, even if nobody knows how to get there.- Japanese toilets — the surprise: you didn't know you needed it until the first time you use it, then you wonder why it isn't everywhere [^aadbfc77@0]. How the Term Is Used in This Channel Nabeel says the products he wanders around looking for are the Japanese toilets of AI: mostly new experiences, things that surprise you with the place that they're playing [^aadbfc77@0]. Granola as a Japanese Toilet - First impressions misfire, then the thing clicks — Nabeel passed at seed on Chris, then recognized months later the product had become the thing: subtle, Apple-Notes-like, making you a little smarter along the way [^aadbfc77@0].- Subtle, hard execution — Granola looks like Apple Notes, quietly appending a little extra to what you already took notes on. Compare Fireflies joining your Zoom call: Nabeel never let it in [^aadbfc77@0]. - Japanese toilets = surprise innovation you didn't know you needed until you tried it [^aadbfc77@0].- Nabeel hunts for these in AI, not faster horses.- Early versions can misfire — the thing often arrives later, and taste is needed to recognize it [^aadbfc77@0].