Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research • Hacker News Board

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#31

Post by slededit » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:21 AM UTC

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #16

I read the headline and thought, "That's weird, Gates isn't really interested in things that just save money these days." And sure enough, from the article: > "...may help end almost 500,000 infant deaths and save $233 billion annually in costs linked to diarrhea, cholera and other diseases..." So I guess that's Bloomberg for you. 233 billion dollars is a way more interesting lede than a mere half a million lives.

Things that aren't cost effective don't normally work at scale. So this is what differentiates it from a feel-good PR stunt that will go nowhere. Cynical to be sure, but grounded in historical precedent.

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#32

Post by Baeocystin » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:23 AM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #4

Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them

BioBidet has been selling them for years. A couple hundred $ gets you a heated seat, heated water, air dry, everything. They're actually increasing in popularity stateside rapidly.

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#33

Post by GolDDranks » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:25 AM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #4

Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them

Here in Japan, most Westerners tend to hate Japanese-style toilets with passion...?

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#34

Post by mikekchar » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:26 AM UTC

com2kid wrote: post #27

seibelj wrote: post #4

Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them

Most bathrooms aren't wired for electricity near the toilet. That aside, you can buy Toto toilets in the US. The fancy ones are north of 4k, but they are available. Cold water sprays are readily available, $60 and a 10 minute installation later.

I just wanted to point out that the US prices are pretty comparable to the Japanese prices. And after having lived in Japan for nearly a decade, I'll pay the price in a heartbeat. The previous occupants of our apartment left one in our apartment and it's one of the cheaper models (about $3-400 IIRC). It's still awesome and worth every cent. You could probably even justify it based on the reduction in toilet paper if you want to, but I don't even think of it. It's gotten to the point where when I go back to visit the UK or Canada, the lack of cleaning options is just disgusting in my mind.

Edit: weird wording

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#35

Post by chairmankaga » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:32 AM UTC

GolDDranks wrote: post #33

seibelj wrote: post #4

Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them

Here in Japan, most Westerners tend to hate Japanese-style toilets with passion...?

Are you talking about the squat toilets? Because the other smart toilets are very nice, even if you don't use the cleaning options, having a heated seat in the winter is amazing.

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#36

Post by GolDDranks » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:39 AM UTC

chairmankaga wrote: post #35

GolDDranks wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here in Japan, most Westerners tend to hate Japanese-style toilets with passion...?

Are you talking about the squat toilets? Because the other smart toilets are very nice, even if you don't use the cleaning options, having a heated seat in the winter is amazing.

Ah, yes. Squat toilets are usually called "Japanese style toilets" so that got me confused.

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#37

Post by NeedMoreTea » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:41 AM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #4

Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them

Mostly you only need to replace the lid+seat to get those.

There's a few companies selling Japanese bidet seats in the UK and some that provide translated control panels. No reason they wouldn't succeed in the US too.

Only the highest priced ones are the complete toilet.

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#38

Post by Fins » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:42 AM UTC

jesterjester wrote: post #19

asaph wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> people keep toilets for 5-10 years per toilet on average Do you have any data to back this up? I would have assumed it was far less often.

Then that only proves my point further. Toilets in my family would get replaced every 15 years.

And what connection could it possibly have to installation of a bidet seat?!

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#39

Post by dang » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:42 AM UTC

jesterjester wrote: post #26

seibelj wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You posted a couple sentence opinion and he/she posted a link with a lot of detail and mentioned an SV startup trying to solve it, which is what I asked. So thanks for your comment, I’m not saying it’s irrelevant, but the link was descriptive and more closely matched my question

It wasn't an opinion. If you are too blind to see the facts then that's your own fault. You asked a question, you got the answer and now you're so upset with it that you're trying to hide it? What's the point? Here are some figures for your fingers. A toilet lasts 10+ years easily. It costs around $200-$300 and extra to install. The installation is simple since most bathrooms have a toilet. A bidet attachment can be…

We've banned this account for repeatedly violating the site guidelines.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

#40

Post by docbrown » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:45 AM UTC

mindfulplay wrote: post #18

This reminds me of software developer who favor deep, technical, architectural work instead of attractive, "sounds cool on paper" sort of work. To an outsider, the animations look cool but the engine that drives the animation is cooler to software engineers. Point being, this is not something a normal philanthropist would imagine being cool and awesome. This takes someone who actually cares about shit (in this case l…

One thing I always thought fascinating about Gates was his candid relationship with feces.

mindfuplay’s comment reminded me of the famous glass of shit water Gates drank from his Omniprocessor project [0].

But within that 2015 article, Gates mentions a long term plan for seweage and shit[1]:

>If we can develop safe, affordable ways to get rid of human waste, we can prevent many of those deaths and help more children grow up healthy.

>Western toilets aren’t the answer, because they require a massive infrastructure of sewer lines and treatment plants that just isn’t feasible in many poor countries.

He also mentions he wrote about toilets before in a 2012 article titled “Reflections on the Reinventing the Toilet Challenge.”[2]

Digging deeper into that article brought me to a PDF from the Gates Foundation outlining grants from their 2011 program: “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge” [3]

————

[0]:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVzppWSIFU0

[1]:https://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/Omniprocessor-From-Po...

[2]:https://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/Reflections-on-the-Re...

[3]:https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/Documents/wsh-reinvent-the-...