This is the right way to catch food particles in a kitchen sink

Sometimes when you are in another country you discover a better way to do things. Some of these things are so obviously an improvement over the way things are done back home that it's hard to understand why the usage hasn't been universally adopted.

In this category I would put cup lids (China: keeps your hot drink hot) and heated toilet seats (Japan).

Also not wearing shoes in the house. This just seems pathological to me.  But I digress.

One of the things we have in America that doesn't work very well are the little kitchen sink strainers that catch food waste so it doesn't clog up the drainpipe. In my experience these things are always stupid and annoying. Here's the kind of thing I'm talking about.

It's small. It fills up right away, so you have to empty it multiple times during a single dish-washing session. But it's hard to get hold of and take out, especially when hands or sink water are soapy.

And here's the fancy, expensive version (from Kohler). Looks nicer, still works stupidly.

Every kitchen sink I've seen in Korea uses the same system, which makes the American system look like it was designed by monkeys.

The drain opening is nice and wide, a good 4 or 5 inches in diameter. On top is a flat plastic disc with sloped sides and a slotted raised center. Only food bits thin enough to slip under the slot can get into the drain.

Lift off the plastic disc, and inside is a big basket, several inches deep, with an actual handle. It has holes on the bottom and mesh sides, for good drainage. It's got a large capacity, and thank to the handle it's easy to lift out for emptying.

I don't know when these first came to Korea, if they were invented here, in Japan, or elsewhere, but it baffles me that they weren't adopted world-wide within a few years.

I wants one!