[VIDEO] This 'Drinkable Book' Filters Water For Years And Can Save Countless Lives
Global water relief nonprofit, Water Is Life, has created The Drinkable Book, which provides a portable water purification system in book form.
By Sadho Ram — 08 May 2014, 03:27 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
We're always told not to judge a book by its cover, but here's a book you can go head and judge by its cover
It's Called 'Drinkable Book', created by WaterisLife and the ad agency DDB who have teamed up to bring it to developing countries with unreliable water sources
The organization Water is Life has come up with a clever solution to combat water-related diseases: The Drinkable Book.
Image via fastcompany.netCreated by global water relief nonprofit, Water Is Life, together with DDB New York and teams at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Virginia, The Drinkable book is an actual tome about water that does exactly what it says.
It's made from a special paper developed by scientists at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Virginia
The books are printed on revolutionary filter paper that can kill off any of the world's far too common deadly waterborne diseases. Users tear out a page, which is coated with silver nanoparticles, and place it into the accompanying water box, like an especially helpful coffee filter.
The goal of the Drinkable Book is to provide cheap and effective water filters while also educating people about how dangerous contaminated water can be
Across the globe, 3.4 million people die each year from water-related diseases. The statistic is particularly staggering considering that many people at risk of such preventable deaths have no idea that the water they imbibe is contaminated. Costing just pennies to produce, the innovative book both teaches water hygiene (i.e. keeping trash and feces away from water sources) and serves as a filter that kills deadly bacteria.
Very cheap to produce and capable of providing clean water for four years, it reduces bacteria by 99.99%
Each book comes packed in a custom filter box that has a slot and fenestration for the pages. Slide one page of the book in, pour water over it, and get up to 5,000 liters of clean water.
The book functions much like a scientific coffee filter. When water passes through it, more than 99 percent of the harmful bacteria are killed, making it comparable to the tap water in the U.S. Each filter can provide up to 30 days worth of clean drinking water, and one book can offer up potable water for up to four years.
slate.comThe Drinkable Book goes beyond simple water purification
The philosophy at play is more in line with the “teach a man to fish” proverb than it is with straightforward relief aid. Printed on each page in beautiful type are rules and guidelines that teach people safer water-drinking habits. (Sample text: "Water contamination is usually caused by human waste, animal waste, or garbage.") The text comes in different languages, depending on the distribution country.
adage.com
The group is still negotiating manufacturing costs, and the first press run of “Drinkable Books” isn’t a good indicator because some costs were higher (filtration trays were 3-D printed instead of injection molded) and some costs were lower (many companies donated their services to the cause) than they will be when the books are being produced at scale.
slate.com