Necessity is the Shower of Invention

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S.African innovator takes water out of showering

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - With inspiration from a friend too lazy to take a shower and a few months of research on the Internet, South African university student Ludwick Marishane has won global recognition for an invention that takes the water out of bathing.

Marishane, a 22-year-old student at the University of Cape Town student invented a product called DryBath, a clear gel applied to skin that does the work of water and soap.

The invention, which won Marishane the 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award, has wide applications in Africa and other parts of the developing world where basic hygiene is lacking and hundreds of millions of people do not have regular access to water.

The product differs from the anti-bacterial hand washes by eliminating the heavy alcohol smell. It creates an odourless, biodegradable cleansing film with moisturisers.

He came up with the idea as a teenager in his poor rural home in the winter when a friend of his said bathing was too much of a bother, made all the worse by a lack of hot water.

"He was lazy and he happened to say, 'why doesn't somebody invent something that you can just put on your skin and you don't have to bathe'," said Marishane.

It was his "eureka" moment.

He then used his web-enabled mobile phone to search through Google and Wikipedia in pursuit of a formula. Six months later, he came up with DryBath and a obtained a patent.

The product is now manufactured commercially with clients including major global airlines for use on long-haul flights and governments for its soldiers in the field.

Marishane also sees it helping conserve water in the poorest parts of the world.

"DryBath will go a long way in helping communities".

Original link:
S.African innovator takes water out of showering | Yahoo! Health
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Jeez - all that bother? Why not just use hydrogen peroxide and a wash cloth? If they can afford the Drybath, then they can afford plenty of H202 - and it oxygenates skin as well.

    The guy really took advantage of his "wow" moment. Got to give him credit even if I do never use his product.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    If they can't afford clean water systems how will they be able to afford drybath?
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  • Profile picture of the author JustinDupre
    Wow.. this sounds good but it's going to be more expensive than taking a regular bath with water. Maybe in the future when water will become expensive this will be a hit.
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    • All good questions
      (and I didn't realize hydrogen peroxide could be used in that kind of application safely - interesting) -

      I was primarily interested in how he had an idea and seemingly implemented it to formula and patent just by research on the internet, with no apparent previous background or experience in anything he did :rolleyes: -

      I wrote off production, marketing and distribution, as a future consideration, most likely by selling his patent to a larger concern...it's really just a anti-bacterial gel designed for a fuller body application - how much is used to bathe is a good question - like shampoo...people tend to overdo it...but it will probably sell -

      We probably won't see him on "Shark Tank"
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    For people with their terribly ironic comments about water - THERE IS NONE

    "hundreds of millions of people do not have regular access to water"

    They have drought there, Yo.

    Probably drinking water would be the priority IF THEY HAD WATER.

    Sorry for the snark, but this is one of my most pet peeves - the fact that what 3/4 of the earth is water, yet hundreds of millions of people are dying of thirst, can't grow food and probably stink.

    WHY? well for one thing Desalination is 'expensive' (more so than human lives in certain countries).

    ... probably more like there is no profit in it.

    or maybe nobody gives a damn.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      I kinda doubt people living in areas with no surface water have much money (If they had money they would relocate), I'm sure what little money they have they'll spend on food, I would rather stink than starve.

      Just saying.


      Originally Posted by Patrician View Post

      For people with their terribly ironic comments about water - THERE IS NONE

      "hundreds of millions of people do not have regular access to water"

      They have drought there, Yo.

      Probably drinking water would be the priority IF THEY HAD WATER.

      Sorry for the snark, but this is one of my most pet peeves - the fact that what 3/4 of the earth is water, yet hundreds of millions of people are dying of thirst, can't grow food and probably stink.

      WHY? well for one thing Desalination is 'expensive' (more so than human lives in certain countries).

      ... probably more like there is no profit in it.

      or maybe nobody gives a damn.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      Originally Posted by Patrician View Post

      For people with their terribly ironic comments about water - THERE IS NONE

      "hundreds of millions of people do not have regular access to water"

      They have drought there, Yo.

      Probably drinking water would be the priority IF THEY HAD WATER.

      Sorry for the snark, but this is one of my most pet peeves - the fact that what 3/4 of the earth is water, yet hundreds of millions of people are dying of thirst, can't grow food and probably stink.

      WHY? well for one thing Desalination is 'expensive' (more so than human lives in certain countries).

      ... probably more like there is no profit in it.

      or maybe nobody gives a damn.
      I agree Pat. But I think it depends on what part of the world you're in. For example in some areas of asia they have plenty of water, just not any that's drinkable.
      In the Soil and Water Conservation class I took we learned all about purifying water cheaply and sometimes at no cost at all.
      Kurt nows a little more then I about producing water in arid regions, but again it can be done at little or no cost.
      You look at people like Bill Gates and corporations like [shudder] Mosanto who want to feed everyone in Africa. Their way of doing it would create large farms that would further destroy the local environment and the climate.
      A more effective way and one that will actually feed the people is going into the villages and teaching the families sustainable agriculture (or gardening). That would improve the local environment and help the climate. Thankfully there are people over there doing just that, in addition they are teaching the people how to purify their water.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Patrician,

    Even in affluent areas, they are thinking about creating TWO water systems! And historically, this idea was around a LONG time! The idea is to have one with "potable" water that they can drink, etc.... The OTHER source of water is called "gray water". It can be used for watering lawns, bathing, etc....

    Some areas COULD easily handle that. A simple filter could provide decent grey water. NOT good enough to drink, but good enough for plant and bathing. And plants ARE a good source of fresh water!

    Anyway, if an area is INCREDIBLY poor, the condition will continue to get FAR worse if they have kids like crazy. I have even seen documentaries about how mothers have starved almost all their kids to allow ONE to survive. Wouldn't it make more sense to just not have those kids?

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
      The first thing that popped into my brain while reading this was, what about my hair?

      Is this stuff healthy for hair? I think that if I bathed but didn't have clean hair, I'd still feel gross.

      And no way am I going to shave it off, I don't think I'd have a pretty head, lol!

      But seriously, I commend this young entrepreneur. As Pat has stated, there are a lot of people who don't have access to water and this would be beneficial to them if greedy people don't get involved and price it out of the hands of those who need it most.

      Terra
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    • Profile picture of the author Patrician
      Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

      Patrician,

      Anyway, if an area is INCREDIBLY poor, the condition will continue to get FAR worse if they have kids like crazy. I have even seen documentaries about how mothers have starved almost all their kids to allow ONE to survive. Wouldn't it make more sense to just not have those kids?

      Steve
      Totally agree, Steve - the very people who are starving breed like 'rabbits' - it is sickening but I guess they can't 'afford' birth control.

      I anticipated this argument - and like I said I agree, however, nobody asked to be born - so the fact that the parents are ignorant and are creating their own hell - it is not the child's fault -

      The children are still human beings - come on even convicted serial and mass murderers (at least in the US) are still given food and water.

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  • Profile picture of the author logesharun
    You're very much correct man.
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