Scrooge McDuck’s money pit and 9 other on-screen home amenities we still want

Tool Time’s Man’s Bathroom

In today’s era of enlightenment regarding gender stereotypes in pop culture, a storyline like Tim Taylor’s running gag about building “The Man’s Bathroom” or “The Man’s Kitchen” on his show within a show on Home Improvement probably wouldn’t fly. But watching the episodes back when they premiered in the ’90s, those Tool Time episodes were so cool. And, we hate to admit it, but they still are, as long as we think about it gender neutrally. Who says a woman wouldn’t want a big screen to open up behind her bathroom mirror?

So, yes, the whole calling it the “Man’s Bathroom” is problematic. But the details of the room itself are pretty rad. A multi-head shower? A jukebox? A reclining toilet? The aforementioned hidden TV? Yes, please.

Tool Time‘s other episodes in the “Man’s [Insert Room Here]” series were just as cool (and yes, just as problematic). The Man’s Kitchen had a built in butcher station set-up inside the fridge, beer on tap, and a super-high-powered microwave. The Man’s Bedroom offered a nightstand that turned into a grill and a bed that turned into a pool table (that one also included a virtual reality system men could utilize when their wives got naggy because of course it did.)

Outdated notions about what men and women want in their homes aside, those segments remain etched in our brains as examples of how much fun a boring old room could be with the help of a little imagination, and, of course, Tim Allen’s grunting.