Drink Up!
Strange is good. Innovations that start out as weird can eventually become major game changers. The “Ooho” water container may be one of those game changing ideas.
At first glance the “Ooho” water container looks like a clear jellyfish after it accidentally washes upon shore, not necessarily something you want to put in your mouth. But if you consider the implications of a disposable water container that does not rely on plastics, you might want to try and give it a sip.
The “Ooho” was designed by London design students Rodrigo García González , Pierre Paslier, and Guillaume Couche, who wanted to come up with a more eco-friendly way to drink water. Every year millions of water bottles are used and are thrown out instead of recycled, filling up our landfills and refusing to degrade. “Ooho” is not only biodegradable but it is also edible.
“Ooho” is made using the gastronomy technique spherification. The outer membrane is a compound made from brown algae and calcium chloride that works like the outer membrane of an egg yolk. Because “Ooho” is made from such simple ingredients it is extremely cheap to make.
“Ooho” recently won a 2014 Design Award from Lexus and was displayed at Milan Design week.
“Ooho” is not a perfect product yet. There are many issues that need to be addressed before everyone starts carrying “Ooho” instead of plastic water bottles. “Ooho” still seems relatively fragile and messy when used. Then there’s a question whether people want to eat a product that has been sitting in their pocket all day?
Still, “Ooho” is a neat scientific experiment which may one day lead to a water bottle revolution.
Ooho Video via Fast Company
Water Bottles via Shutterstock