Most people living in the U.S. take for granted the fact that every time we flick a switch a light will come on or turn on a faucet to find clean water flowing out. But many people living in other countries have to deal with much more unreliable circumstances. CBS News reports about one company’s creative way of improving electricity for countries like Nigeria that often lose power several times each day.
The International Energy Agency recently reported that 2.6 billion people around the globe have unreliable electricity. Jessica O. Matthews founded a company called Uncharted Play after growing frustrated during a power outage in Nigeria while attending her aunt’s wedding. She explains, “It wasn't the fact that everyone was experiencing this which was so unsettling but the fact that everyone was so complacent, so used to it and they had no feeling or belief that they could do something to change the situation.”
Uncharted Play is the company responsible for creating an energy storing soccer ball called Socckett that could change the way many people live around the world. After just 30 minutes of kicking the ball around enough kinetic energy is stored into a small generator inside the ball to power a light bulb for 3 hours. It makes sense the energy-harnessing ball is a soccer ball since it is unquestionably one of the most popular sports in the world.
What do you think of the new energy-harnessing soccer ball?
Do you think this type of invention can make a big difference for a person living with unreliable electricity?
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