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The pedal-powered washing machine is one of the many innovations that will feature on Discovery Channel
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DOUBLE ADVANTAGE Remya's innovation is one of the 18 that the Discovery Channel is featuring this week
Dumping your clothes in the washing machine is a chore you do at least a couple of times a week. But how many of you have stopped to wonder how the machine works? If you have done that, then have you ever tried to think of an idea that would make the machine work better?
Preoccupied with the rush of daily life, not many of us stop to ask questions of things that happen around us. But there is a small breed of people out there who continue to ask questions and often the answers they arrive at turn out to be quite special indeed.
Indian innovator
Discovery Channel, starting today, is airing a series called Beyond Tomorrow that celebrates the spirit of innovation not just abroad but also in India. The channel says not many know about Indian innovators and their inventions that range from a coconut palm-climbing apparatus to a pedal-cranked washing machine.
Yes, we have come back to the washing machine. And this human-powered gadget might just be what you are looking for if you want to work off a few calories while washing clothes.
Remya Jose, an 18-year-old engineering student from Perinthalmanna in Mallappuram Distict, Keralais one of the 18 or so Indian innovators who will be featured in the TV series.
"I first saw a electric washing machine at my friend's house when I was in the 10th standard. We had no machine at home, so either I had to wash my clothes after school or my mother, who was not keeping well, had to. I wanted a substitute for the electric machine," recalls Remya.
Soon after her board examinations, Remya began work on the machine. Buying the small parts she needed from local stores, she got the machine welded at a garage. It took a full year but her design, Remya says, combines the best of washing clothes by hand and machine.
"In Kerala people usually wash clothes by beating them. This is very effective in removing dirt but damages the fibres. The washing machine uses swirling water to do the cleaning. My machine has a cylinder net frame inside that combines the best of both methods. The cylinder is connected to the pedal which is cranked by human power." The machine has been patented and Remya hopes to contribute some of the royalty she earns from it to her village.
Beyond Tomorrow will air every day at 8 p.m. till February 24. Thereafter it will air on Fridays at 10 p.m.
ANAND SANKAR
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