Slave Playbor
The Cooper-Hewitt is holding their annual National Design Awards this month. Among the nominees are some natural choices: the iPhone (sleek, modern), the floating outdoor pool in Brooklyn (creative use of public space), and the Lifestraw (great public policy through design).
But among the odder nominees is the “Play For Pump,” which allows children to run around, spinning a roundabout wheel that pumps water from a well. The inventors claim it “provides easy access to clean drinking water, brings joy to children, and leads to improvements in health, education, gender equality, and economic development.”
This truly is great design. After all, where I’m from, a device like this is called “child slave labor.” But when you do it under the guise of pretty colors and “fun,” anything is possible!
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pm and is filed under General stupidity. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
j$ says:I’m inventing a pump attached to a beer can holder, so every time I lift my to take a sip I will improve health, education, gender equality, and economic development.
October 11th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Jen says:Maybe if it was a merry-go-round then it would be all right…
October 12th, 2007 at 11:53 am
quin says:child labour works so well in third world countries, we thought we’d give it a go…
October 17th, 2007 at 5:34 am
jason says:If they could just figure out how to put tiny scraps of carpet under their feet, then they could generate static electricity too and have some lights while they’re at it. Perhaps I should write these people a letter.