It seems like living in the 21st century
would mean that we would no longer have to deal with mundane tasks like washing
dishes. Even the best dish washing machines have trouble getting the dirt off
sometimes. The brilliant solution from Swedish design studio Tomorrow Machine:
dishes that clean themselves.
More accurately, the plate and bowl never
get dirty at all. They are coated with a super-hydrophobic material like that
found in nature on lotus leaves. The material repels water on the molecular
scale, never letting anything actually stick to or completely touch the surface
of the dishes. To wash them, all you have to do is tip the crumbs or leftovers
off – you don’t even have to wipe them.
The dishes are tough enough that they won’t
break when you drop them, and they are lighter than traditional ceramic plates.
The project was commissioned by the Swedish Foreign Industries Commission.
Their goal was to use natural materials in the making of futuristic objects
that will not only make our lives easier in the future, but reduce humans’
effect on the planet.
