Gates Foundation spent $200M funding toilet research

Post by jrockway » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 4:38 PM UTC

freehunter wrote: post #225

knodi123 wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The manual for the original Nintendo Entertainment System said "Do not operate continuously for more than 15 minutes." Sometimes legal departments force them to include those recommendations in order to err on the side of "absurdly overcautious." And sometimes the recommendations are merely prudent! I'm not saying you can wait longer, just that installers may have a motivation to exaggerate.

But unlike an NES system, if your septic tank develops a problem you now have liquid and solid waste flooding your yard and home, and your toilets, sinks, and showers are useless until it's fixed.

Post by alehul » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 4:51 PM UTC

hindsightbias wrote: post #229

akarma wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because intelligent people can't vote for Trump, AfD, or Bolsonaro? In the case of the US (assuming you're American): do you actually think that half of our country is stupid ?

Actually, only about half the people vote, so it was 26-27% of voters https://mises.org/wire/26-percent-eligible-voters-voted-trum... Which I've always more associated with the Crazification Factor than outright stupidity: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Crazification_factor But it always helps to have Cipolla's Basic Laws of Human Stupidity bookmarked: https://qz.com/967554/the-five-universal-laws-of-human-stupi... 72…

Post by zerocrates » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 4:59 PM UTC

dsign wrote: post #81

>> contained as many as 200 trillion rotavirus cells Journalists can't grasp that saying a rotavirus is a cell is like stretching a wrench to be a SUV? What kind of twisted education system can get somebody to become so proficient with words and so noob in basic science?

Post by WorldMaker » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:05 PM UTC

dogma1138 wrote: post #165

asteli wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this was contrary to my city-dweller's understanding, so i did some quick wiki-reading and it seems like the reality is somewhere between you and GP's statement? i.e. they do biodegrade waste via anaerobic bacteria, but non-degradable sludge has to get pumped out every few years.

It depends on how the tank is setup and the drainage system it has. Septic tanks are not closed systems they are open and intended to provide an environment that can produce a bio-reactor while maintaining drainage through the soil. Many good systems don’t need to be drained other than every few decades in fact good systems would outlast the tank and the filtering substrate it’s built on so when the time comes you ne…

Post by specialist » Wed, Nov 07, 2018, 5:07 PM UTC

m_mueller wrote: post #105

gnarbarian wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what I'm saying is a outhouse /is/ a huge innovation to many places in Western Africa and India. It's largely a cultural problem like rampant littering or pollution. One guy digging an outhouse and shitting in it won't make any more difference than a single person recycling. But if enough people do it they will see a huge improvement in public health and infant mortality.

I'd argue that going from shitting in the woods to a well engineered and cheap toilet is a much more attractive step for most people than having them dig outhouses. It's like with the washing mashines - once electrification is there it's one of the first purchases since it's such a quality of life improvement, and this has happened for a majority of the world's population.