Bill Gates to build a better toilet.

Mac fans should have a *field day* coming up with headlines for this ABC.net.au piece on Bill Gates’ noble new quest – to reinvent the toilet:

A charitable foundation founded by Gates and his wife kicked off a “Reinvent the Toilet Fair” in Seattle and awarded prizes for promising innovations.

“Toilets are extremely important for public health and, when you think of it, even human dignity,” Gates said.

“The flush toilets we use in the wealthy world are irrelevant, impractical and impossible for 40 per cent of the global population, because they often don’t have access to water, and sewers, electricity, and sewage treatment systems.”

He’s right, of course. And this is a field that no doubt is long overdue for a 21st century overhaul. So I really shouldn’t be laughing.

Tags: engineering, research