[ChuckDickerson]

Originally Posted by dlavery

OK, the century is still young, and there are still a lot of things yet to be invented over the next 94 years, but this is definitely a biggie.

But rather than just let the cat out of the bag, it is time to don your thinking caps and do a little research.

- What has no moving parts, is completely disposable, and requires no power source?
- What will be of immediate use to over four billion people throughout the world?
- What can, for over a year at a time for a typical person, protect people from some of the most prolific killers on the planet?
- What can be manufactured and distributed by the millions, for a unit cost of around $2?
- What is so simple to use that it requires no written instructions, no manual, and no user training (it has been tested by people ranging from 8 months to 88 years old)?
- What was NOT invented by Dean, but gets directly at one of his biggest research topics?

I get to work with some of the most advanced - and frequently complicated - technologies on Earth. But every now and then, something so elegant comes along that it absolutely knocks you over - not with it's amazing complexity, but with pure, purpose-build simplicity. The invention I have just seen is one of those sort of things. It is simple. It is effective. It is affordable. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. I have had one for the last 48 hours, and it is just amazing (I got mine on Wednesday evening while having dinner with Katie Couric, but that is another story...)

Can you figure out what it is?

-dave

My guess is the LifeStraw. If correct and Dave has one then I assume they are currently available for sale. One of these should be packaged with every MRE distributed to disaster victims. After going through Katrina these things would have been welcomed. MRE + LifeStraw + Airdrop = Cheap Life Saver.