4 ms·

Do you realize what all you need water for? Washing clothes, flushing the toilet and God forbid a bath. And this is not a bath by any Western sense, no one uses

Do you realize what all you need water for? Washing clothes, flushing the toilet and God forbid a bath. And this is not a bath by any Western sense, no one uses a shower or a tub, I'm talking about taking five liters of water and using the absolute minimum to wet yourself for soap and wash the soap off. Even astronauts in the ISS probably use more water than that. Of course someone sitting in a developed country who uses a few hundred liters every day makes this comment.

paulcole 7y ago
I’m actually working on a waterless toilet startup. It’s like a cat’s litter box but for people (app-connected and Bluetooth enabled, obviously). I really think it will change the way people live in the climate change era.
- saagarjha 7y ago
  > app-connected and Bluetooth enabled, obviously Why?
  - paulcole 7y ago
    Some of Sandy’s (current name of my startup) technology is borrowed from my friend Liz’s startup. She (Sandy, not Liz) will be able to diagnose disease and transmit test results via Bluetooth to your phone from just a drop of fecal matter. You’ll be able to say, “Hi Sandy, do I have worms?”, for example. Liz said her technology is not foolproof, but what is in this day and age?
    - rusticpenn 7y ago
      I am sorry if I am being rude... Don't you think its a huge issue of trust?. The data can be sold to insurance or advertising companies ( no HIPAA or other laws to protect the data here ).
      - KajMagnus 7y ago
        I imagine having worms and other illnesses is a worse problem, than insurance and advertising companies. Yes personal data protection it's a good thing to think about, maybe not the highest prio problem though.
        bwilli123 7y ago
        My startup checks for Leprosy. It's cheap and convenient. Just mail us any finger you have lying around.
        rusticpenn 7y ago
        If your insurance knows about the problem before your doctor, there are lot of grey areas which could be misused.
      - paulcole 7y ago
        Yes, Sandy will sell that information and use it to provide targeted advertising. EG if you have worms, she will announce ads and discounts for anti-worm medication. We call it Sandy with special offers. If you'd like to pay extra you can get a special-offer-free experience. If you don't like the idea of any data collection you can just buy a cat litter box and have your own Sandy (without the added features). Don't see how this is an issue.
- klyrs 7y ago
  > I really think it will change the way people live in the climate change era. Do you really see the 'climate change era' providing robust enough infrastructure that we'll still be kitted out with smartphones?
  - paulcole 7y ago
    With the water we save with Sandy (name of my startup) the smartphones of tomorrow will likely be powered with small water wheels.
    - KajMagnus 7y ago
      @klyrs Seems to me yes people can have mobile phones, and still no water. Have a look at this comment by someone who apparently lives? has lived? in the relevant areas: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20260143 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20260143 > A good part of people seem destitute, yet they have good mobile phones. Inexpensive mobile phonoes aren't that expensive and where I live also the beggars have phones. To me seems realistic with a future where everyone is conneted with a phone, and at the same time starving and being ill because of polluted water (or no water).
      - klyrs 7y ago
        I see that, and agree, for the short-term future. My point is that manufacturing of circuits, touchscreens and other components is extremely resource intensive. Relatively pure water is one of very many inputs that are required. Other resources such as metals and rare-earth minerals are often mined in places which are quickly becoming inhospitable. We already see metals being harvested from infrastructure. I expect that to get worse -- and worse faster in more impoverished areas. It seems to me that the remaining hospitable climes will face increasing pressures on their resources, and the luxury of nearly-free electricity powering smartphones will be fleeting.
        KajMagnus 7y ago
        Ok that sounds reasonable, that these surprisingly low cost phones, cannot last that long. At the same time, shipping phones to far away places where there is a "shortage" of phones, and selling them there, is going to be more profitable, per shipment, than shipping water to that same place. And one needs just a few shipments of phones, for everyone to have a phone. One ships just 0.1 kg phone per person, once. Compared to 10 or 100 kg water per person and day. With that in mind, I'm thinking phones will continue to be prevalent, in comparison to water, in areas where there's a drought.
- KajMagnus 7y ago
  Best wishes with the waterless toilet. Surprised that you got lots of downvotes, when instead your startup team is one of those few actually doing (trying to do) something about the water situation. Your toilet startup has a website? (Websearching a bit, seems normal toilet water usage is 30 - 100 liter water a day, sounds like a lot to me.)

paulcole 7y ago

I’m actually working on a waterless toilet startup. It’s like a cat’s litter box but for people (app-connected and Bluetooth enabled, obviously). I really think it will change the way people live in the climate change era.

saagarjha 7y ago
> app-connected and Bluetooth enabled, obviously Why?
- paulcole 7y ago
  Some of Sandy’s (current name of my startup) technology is borrowed from my friend Liz’s startup. She (Sandy, not Liz) will be able to diagnose disease and transmit test results via Bluetooth to your phone from just a drop of fecal matter. You’ll be able to say, “Hi Sandy, do I have worms?”, for example. Liz said her technology is not foolproof, but what is in this day and age?
  - rusticpenn 7y ago
    I am sorry if I am being rude... Don't you think its a huge issue of trust?. The data can be sold to insurance or advertising companies ( no HIPAA or other laws to protect the data here ).
    - KajMagnus 7y ago
      I imagine having worms and other illnesses is a worse problem, than insurance and advertising companies. Yes personal data protection it's a good thing to think about, maybe not the highest prio problem though.
      - bwilli123 7y ago
        My startup checks for Leprosy. It's cheap and convenient. Just mail us any finger you have lying around.
      - rusticpenn 7y ago
        If your insurance knows about the problem before your doctor, there are lot of grey areas which could be misused.
    - paulcole 7y ago
      Yes, Sandy will sell that information and use it to provide targeted advertising. EG if you have worms, she will announce ads and discounts for anti-worm medication. We call it Sandy with special offers. If you'd like to pay extra you can get a special-offer-free experience. If you don't like the idea of any data collection you can just buy a cat litter box and have your own Sandy (without the added features). Don't see how this is an issue.
klyrs 7y ago
> I really think it will change the way people live in the climate change era. Do you really see the 'climate change era' providing robust enough infrastructure that we'll still be kitted out with smartphones?
- paulcole 7y ago
  With the water we save with Sandy (name of my startup) the smartphones of tomorrow will likely be powered with small water wheels.
  - KajMagnus 7y ago
    @klyrs Seems to me yes people can have mobile phones, and still no water. Have a look at this comment by someone who apparently lives? has lived? in the relevant areas: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20260143 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20260143 > A good part of people seem destitute, yet they have good mobile phones. Inexpensive mobile phonoes aren't that expensive and where I live also the beggars have phones. To me seems realistic with a future where everyone is conneted with a phone, and at the same time starving and being ill because of polluted water (or no water).
    - klyrs 7y ago
      I see that, and agree, for the short-term future. My point is that manufacturing of circuits, touchscreens and other components is extremely resource intensive. Relatively pure water is one of very many inputs that are required. Other resources such as metals and rare-earth minerals are often mined in places which are quickly becoming inhospitable. We already see metals being harvested from infrastructure. I expect that to get worse -- and worse faster in more impoverished areas. It seems to me that the remaining hospitable climes will face increasing pressures on their resources, and the luxury of nearly-free electricity powering smartphones will be fleeting.
      - KajMagnus 7y ago
        Ok that sounds reasonable, that these surprisingly low cost phones, cannot last that long. At the same time, shipping phones to far away places where there is a "shortage" of phones, and selling them there, is going to be more profitable, per shipment, than shipping water to that same place. And one needs just a few shipments of phones, for everyone to have a phone. One ships just 0.1 kg phone per person, once. Compared to 10 or 100 kg water per person and day. With that in mind, I'm thinking phones will continue to be prevalent, in comparison to water, in areas where there's a drought.
KajMagnus 7y ago
Best wishes with the waterless toilet. Surprised that you got lots of downvotes, when instead your startup team is one of those few actually doing (trying to do) something about the water situation. Your toilet startup has a website? (Websearching a bit, seems normal toilet water usage is 30 - 100 liter water a day, sounds like a lot to me.)