Killer litter? Let’s use round-ledge technology!
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_468022.html
Stamp out killer litter
One thing about being in the scientific research business is that you always try to think of technological solutions to solve problems, before anything other solution — legislative, education, marketing whatever……
I remeber once reading about a particular medieval castle ledge design — the guy used walls with rounded ledges rather than flat ledges. This way, it made it harder for intruders to climb over those huge walls.
What if we used the same technology to reduce the number of idiots who put flower pots on their ledges? If the ledge was rounded, it would not be possible at all to put pot plants there.
You can’t stop crazy people from flinging furniture and diamond rings out the window in the middle of a quarrel of course, but at least there’ll be less falling pot plants???
I had to add the longkang in below, because I figured there’ll be idiots like me who’ll try to balance my wallet and handphone on the rounded ledge while tying my shoelaces. So the longkang is there to catch such falling objects. Ath the base of the parapet, we need to have gaps of course, for people to retrieve fallen items…..
And if the longkang is slopped all the way to the end, it can collect rainwater and channel it to some reservoir/watertank too! Helps increase our water supply!
disclaimer: I’m no architech. But yeh, this is the random sort of things i think of reading the papers on the morning MRT ride…..
If there’s anyone from HDB reading this that actually thinks this is a feasible idea, you’re free to use it!!! Am not patenting! ; )
On this same note “One thing about being in the scientific research business is that you always try to think of technological solutions to solve problems, before anything other solution — legislative, education, marketing whatever……”
I always had this hypothesis about why the research labs are SO cold :
Rather than having the safety officer, or having a fine system, to enforce the “wearing of labcoats in the lab” safety rule, they simply made the place so cold that you’ll pile on every single stitch of clothing you could find — ant that usually included the labcoat.
Great idea Mathia! And nice sketch image
Hee thanks Seelan! = )
Are you going to patent this? I thought the govt idea of throwing people into jail for killer litter slightly more effective.
The round ledge is a good idea. But I disagree with the longkang idea. It serves as perfect perch places for birds to rest and poo on.
For water collection, if there is no longkang up there, it will still fall onto the ground below – which definitely has a longkang. So whether you collect it at floor level above or ground level below, it makes no difference really.
Not that the uncollected rain water above ground level can go anywhere else.
It was reported on the SDP website 21 Dec 2009 that:
“Blogger and social activist Ms Mathia Lee was recently in Sarajevo to attend the Swedish International Liberal Center (SILC) Activist Seminar”.
Will you be sharing your experience there with your blog readers?
Hi Joelee & Solo Bear,
don’t take my design seriously leh…….am totally out of my depth here… =D
i think the only point i wanted to make was that sometimes we should think of techonological solutions before other solutions.
eg. to reduce traffic jams, you could
1. persuade people not travel during peak hours (by increasing cost/education)
2. increase the size of the road (Technological solution)
3. Stagger working hours over a wider range , to reduce the NEED to travel at that time
etc….
Hi Lucky Tan,
Yep, i contributed the post http://yoursdp.org/index.php/perspective/vantage/3197-sporean-activists-should-engage-more-with-others-blogger
to share my experience = )