Gas Prices Too High? Use The Power Of Pee

We are all b*tching and moaning about it. With gas prices skyrocketing everywhere, some are paying $3 or more a gallon...and that is just for regular unleaded! What if you are like me and you have a car that only runs on premium? Well then you are shelling out even more. Then my other car is an H2, yes I know dumb considering the mileage it gets (and no I didn't buy it to make up for lacking in another area - I'm just fine down there I can assure you and so can a few women). The gas guzzling Hummer gets roughly 9 miles to the gallon - ouch. So needless to say I don't drive it much. Now I do ride my motorcycle alot because of the high gas prices around the country. Nearly all of us need to use gas and it once was true that your best bet to save at the pump was to get yourself a nice 30+ miles to the gallon 5-speed Honda, shifting at the optimum RPMs and staying away from city driving.

Although owning a Honda is practical, not all of us do that and if you don't want to ride a bicycle to work or use public transportation, then you need to drive and that requires gas...or does it? Now welcome to the modern world! The world of technology and it's ever changing mix of innovations to help simplify and better our lives. We were introduced to electric and hybrid automobiles a few years ago and sure they are catching on, but still the majority of us continue to pay at the pump. What if I told you to forget the solar power crap and all the junk you've heard before and said that you could be powered by pee? That's right, pee - your own urine could fuel you thru the day! Laugh, but it's true. We have always thought of our urine as "waste". It's something to dispose of, eliminate from our bodies. Well now it's time to covet that almighty long morning pee because it has power just waiting to be unleashed. It has the ability to not only give you an excuse to leave some awkward conversation with a bad date, but to also supply the needed fuel for your commute to work.

The first urine-powered paper battery has been created by physicists in Singapore. The credit-card sized unit could be a useful power source for cheap healthcare test kits for diseases like diabetes and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cell phone. Testing urine can reveal the identity of illnesses and the new paper battery could allow the sample being tested to also power the diagnostic device. The battery is made of a layer of filter paper steeped in copper chloride, sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper. This "sandwich" is then laminated in plastic to hold the whole package together. The resulting battery is just 1 millimeter thick and 60 by 30 mm across - slightly smaller than a credit card. To activate the battery, a drop of urine is added and soaks through the sandwiched filter paper. The chemicals dissolve and react to produce electricity. The magnesium layer acts as the anode, losing its electrons. The copper chloride acts as the cathode, mopping up the electrons. The voltage, current and capacity of the battery could be improved by different designs or by switching the electrode or electrolyte materials used. Now the less scientific explanation...

It's only a matter of time before the pee powered battery is then used to power your iPod, computer and eventually a bigger version is created to power your car! So stop giving your arm, leg and even first born up in order to dump a couple gallons of gas into your ride. The future is here and it is "urging" (get it?) for pee! After all, it's the fuel of Mother Nature so you can't go wrong. Also, be thankful that I didn't choose to upload an image of someone urinating to go along with this post. I opted for this witty sign above instead that is just as fitting.