My introduction to the appliance wars goes back to the 1990s, when the subject popped up on my favorite television show, Seinfeld. In the episode, Kramer, Jerry, and Newman are all deeply distraught (and disheveled). They can’t get a good wash because of mandated new “low-flow” showers.

“There’s no pressure; I can’t get the shampoo out of my hair!” Kramer exclaims. “If I don’t have a good shower, I am not myself. I feel weak and ineffectual; I’m not Kramer.”

The episode, which ends with Kramer buying “hot” shower heads off the black market, perfectly captured the absurdity of clumsy attempts to conserve resources in this top-down fashion.

[Jon has the clip at the link, for those who don’t recall the episode, so click on over. The problem with all of these regulations is that they inevitably create three incentives: A black market for effective goods, potentially dangerous modifications to defeat restrictive designs, and overuse to achieve the desired result. Low-flow toilets are a great example of the third, as Jon also notes. — Ed]