By Jeff Gamet
There’s a think on Weibo where people are talking about using their Xiaomi fitness band to take heart rate readings from a roll of toilet paper. Spoiler: You really can, and it isn’t a product flaw. In fact, you can see a banana’s heart rate with your Apple Watch, or most any other wrist top heart rate sensor. Read on to learn why.
Reports of toilet paper with heart beats took off on the Chinese social network site Weibo, complete with photos of people showing their Mi Bands doing just that. They also posted photos of their Mi Bands getting readings from other items.
Just to be clear: Toilet paper and bananas don’t really have a heart beat, so don’t worry about the philosophical implications of using either.
Apple Watch, Xiaomi’s Mi Band, and other fitness trackers use a green light to sense your heart rate. The technology is called photoplethysmography, and it measures light absorption.
Read more at theMacObserver.com