by Dani Norton
Staff writer
If you own a smartphone (and probably even if you don’t) chances are you’re familiar with the concept of apps. They range from super-handy to virtually useless, and they are typically inexpensive or completely free of cost.
There are probably billions of them and about half of those are garbage, so weeding out the really cool ones can be difficult. Fear not, readers. Each week, we will dazzle you with wonders the likes of which you never imagined.
So you like to go to the movies. Part of the magic is popping by the concession stand for some overpriced snacks and a giant soda. The movie starts, you take a couple of sips of your drink and inevitably, an hour into the movie, your bladder senses that it’s time to be a jerk.
If you’re anything like me, you will sit there for the remaining hour or more, eyeballs floating, for fear of missing anything important. Friends, those days are behind us. Meet RunPee.
RunPee is a free application, available for Android, iPhone and Windows 7 Mobile platforms. It’s simple and easy-to-navigate interface provides a list of all the movies currently showing at the box office. Tapping one will bring you to a screen that provides you with every time marker in the movie that contains no action essential to the plot of your flick and how long you have before the good stuff starts again.
For example, 47 minutes into “Lion King,” you have five minutes to take care of your business.
Not sure how long you’ve been sitting there, legs crossed awkwardly with your urinary system having a hearty chuckle at your expense? No worries. RunPee will give you a cue that means a green light for your bio break.
In the case of “Lion King,” your break begins right after Timon and Pumbaa sing “Hakuna Matata” with Simba.
Hakuna matata, indeed, Pumbaa. With an app like this, you can adopt your own “problem-free philosophy” when nature calls.