Finding His Way: Boy Takes Seat In Smithsonian

LAKE MILLS, Wis. - One of those useful ideas that no one ever thought of before - a glow-in-the-dark toilet seat - has earned a 10-year-old boy a place in the Smithsonian Institution.

Clint Lenz said his seat eliminates the need for a night light and prevents fumbling in the dark to find the toilet.

The idea came naturally to him: his father and some of his mother's relatives are plumbers. But his mother, Candice Lenz, helped inspire it.

"Mom always said she wanted a heated one, but I said glow-in-the-dark," Clint said.

His father, Fred Lenz, got him a toilet seat and he covered it with glow-in-the-dark spray paint. It took first place in the "household" division of the national Invent America competition.

Clint and his parents will fly to Washington later this month, and the toilet seat will go on display with the creations of other finalists. He also won a $1,000 savings bond and a computer for his fifth-grade class.

Candice Lenz said relatives and friends are lining up for the seats and his grandfather is encouraging him to apply for a patent.

"The toilet seats have wide appeal," Candice Lenz said. "Everybody wants one now."