Bill Gates wants to reinvent the toilet

[GeominorAI]

Bill Gates wants to reinvent the toilet



Bill Gates wants to change how you do business yet again. Researchers from all over the world gathered in Seattle today to participate in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Reinvent the Toilet Fair.

As strange as it sounds, reinventing the toilet has become something of a passion for Gates over the last year or so, and it goes hand in hand with saving millions of young lives. And if you're living in a third world country, it might not sound strange at all - Gates says that unsanitary toilets account for the deaths of 1.5 million children every year. Even though it's a little taboo to talk about toilets, you do what you've gotta do. And for 40% of the world, the toilets we all know and love just don't cut it.

"The flush toilets we use in the wealthy world are irrelevant, impractical and impossible for 40 percent of the global population, because they often don't have access to water, and sewers, electricity, and sewage treatment systems," Gates wrote on his blog, The Gates Notes A toilet for the modern world has a lot to live up to; it has to be sustainable, and affordable enough to deploy into poor countries. And while it's saving lives in Africa, the toilet of the future will be saving water on the home front, since a modern flush toilet wastes about 10 times the amount of water needed to keep a person alive each day.

So, the Gates Foundation decided that it was time to call together the best and brightest minds in the world to solve the problem. And so the Reinvent the Toilet Fair was born, and it's already producing some interesting results. As the event kicked off, Bill Gates awarded prizes to three universities who had been working on projects to transform, uh, 'waste,' into something useful.

The California Institute of Technology came in first, with a toilet that generates hydrogen and electricity, while Loughborough University's charcoal-producing toilet came in second, followed closely by the University of Toronto's toilet, which 'sanitizes' poop and creates clean water and 'resources,' whatever the hell that means. We're not sure that we want to know. The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, meanwhile, earned itself an honorable mention for its outstanding achievements in 'toilet user-interface.

As funny as that sounds, we've got to point out one more time that this is serious business, and we've got to commend Gates for using his influence and resources to do great things. It really doesn't get any better than saving lives, even if it is because he's helping to build a better toilet. Nothing embarrassing in that.

Source: Neowin

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[SCHUMI_4EVER]

Yeah....I really don't see the traditional outdoor toilet getting replaced anytime soon for places that can't use flush toilets.

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[Xblade]

You have to admit its a noble.....gesture.

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[Demigod]

I actually saw a BBC documentary about the toilet recently, and it showed Bill and Melinda in there. I thought the topic was a bit silly at first, but watching it has changed my view (I guess we who live in the developed world take toilets for granted but modern life would be unimaginable without it). This is actually very serious matter that needs serious attention.

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[capo_2k]

Toilet? Gimme the water.

What is stopping us from sticking a pipeline from the sea in, with a seawater filtration system? There are pipelines out there >3,000 miles in length. It can be done.

So why isn't it?

My solution is send the military in to get rid of the "government". Then start building good s**t.

[Xblade]

The military is controlled by the government.......dat chain of command.

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[Xblade]

Originally Posted by capo_2k

What is stopping us from sticking a pipeline from the sea in, with a seawater filtration system? There are pipelines out there >3,000 miles in length. It can be done.

Money.

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[Ahielia]

Originally Posted by Xblade

Money.

Indeed.
It's also the reason why we still rely on fossil fuel, or have flying cars yet.

[Radix865]

Originally Posted by Ahielia

Indeed.
It's also the reason why we still rely on fossil fuel, or have flying cars yet.

Well, there are flying cars but they're not commercially available... Nor are they really legal either I guess.

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[@ruantec]

While at it they should find something against the bad odor

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[Radix865]

Originally Posted by @ruantec

While at it they should find something against the bad odor

They already have:


(I just used axe as an example because it's most famous)

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[@ruantec]

Not a bad idea... however this one is by far more effective.. just make sure to runaway because is extremely intensive but at the same time insanely effective

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[SCHUMI_4EVER]

Originally Posted by Radix865

They already have:


(I just used axe as an example because it's most famous)

I don't think @ruantec meant BO...

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[Phil]

AXE is so overated. Old Spice man.

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[Ahielia]

Originally Posted by Phil

AXE is so overated.

Indeed.
I really dislike the smell of that, both the spray and the shower gel thingie.

[Radix865]

Schumi, it was meant as a joke... But I guess it went over you guys.

Originally Posted by Phil

AXE is so overated. Old Spice man.

...notice the damn text under the pic, I don't use AXE either.

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[Bill_gates]

sounds like a good idea to me

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