# Forget apps and useless startups **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [November 8, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084 "2012-11-08T14:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LZ1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LZ1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/LZ1)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084/1 "2012-11-08T14:06:14Z")
> **[Four African Girls Create Urine-Powered Generator](https://thenextweb.com/shareables/2012/11/07/forget-apps-and-other-useless-startups-these-four-african-girls-have-created-a-pee-powered-generator/)** > > Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and Bello Eniola are showing off their creation, a urine powered generator, at Maker Faire Africa. Forget apps and useless startups: These four African girls have created a pee-powered generator ![http://cdn.thenextweb.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/11/8161674482_6afa443513_c-520x390.jpg](http://cdn.thenextweb.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/11/8161674482_6afa443513_c-520x390.jpg) All over Africa, young men and women have missioned across the country and arrived in Lagos, Nigeria. All they want to do is show off what they have made. Maker Faire Africa is more than your typical startup event: it actually shows off innovations, inventions, and initiatives that solve immediate challenges and problems, and then works to support and propagate them. Put another way, this isn’t just a bunch of rich people talking about how their apps are going to change the world. These four girls may not end up doing that either, but their efforts definitely stand more of a chance than yet another hyper local social cloud app. Their efforts should not go unnoticed, because if this is what they’re doing as teenagers, I really hope they have the funding they need to be revolutionizing lives when they’re adults. Here’s how it works: Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which cracks the urea into nitrogen, water, and hydrogen. The hydrogen goes into a water filter for purification, which then gets pushed into the gas cylinder. The gas cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove the moisture from the hydrogen gas. This purified hydrogen gas is pushed into the generator. 1 Liter of urine gives you 6 hours of electricity. If this doesn’t motivate you to go out and start thinking about how you can really make an impact, then I don’t know what will. If urine isn’t your cup of tea, then I recommend you go and read Paul Graham’s essay Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas. In particular, pay attention to number three and number seven. Everyone else, go back to trying to figure out if you should target Android, iOS, or both. ---
**Author:** ![Motocrossx23](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/motocrossx23/32/5120_2.png) [@Motocrossx23](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Motocrossx23)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084/2 "2012-11-08T14:12:21Z")
Sucks for people who have UTI’s. ---
**Author:** ![Beck](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/beck/32/28683_2.png) [@Beck](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Beck)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084/3 "2012-11-08T16:06:03Z")
I’m glad they didn’t just piss their education away. ---
**Author:** ![RedGoober4Life](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/redgoober4life/32/7610_2.png) [@RedGoober4Life](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/RedGoober4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084/4 "2012-11-08T16:32:46Z")
> [@LZ"](#): > > Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which cracks the urea into nitrogen, water, and hydrogen. How much energy does this step take? … oh: [http://www.suttonfruit.com/pics/urea\_electrolysis.pdf](http://www.suttonfruit.com/pics/urea_electrolysis.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Onyx\_Z32](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/onyx_z32/32/7581_2.png) [@Onyx\_Z32](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Onyx_Z32)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084/5 "2012-11-08T16:39:12Z")
I don’t think this is new. In India they’ve been using something like this and biomass (aka poop) to create electricity. Cool stuff though. ---
**Author:** ![LZ1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LZ1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/LZ1)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084/6 "2012-11-08T16:40:42Z")
> [@RedGoober4Life](#): > > How much energy does this step take? > > … > > oh: [http://www.suttonfruit.com/pics/urea\_electrolysis.pdf](http://www.suttonfruit.com/pics/urea_electrolysis.pdf) Get out of here with your science ---
**Author:** ![1QIKZ](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/1qikz/32/6112_2.png) [@1QIKZ](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/1QIKZ)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/forget-apps-and-useless-startups/227084/7 "2012-11-08T16:51:37Z")
Can you imagine what these would be capable of at football games? I would surmise alcohol rich piss would be like racing fuel in this thing.