Scientist Find Strange New Use For Chicken Feathers
Scientist have recently found a strange new way to use chicken feathers that might lead to a cleaner world. According to GoodNet, scientist recently found out that they can use chicken feathers to power clean electricity. These chicken feathers would normally become waste, but now have a whole new purpose.
Researchers located at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore and ETH Zurich in Switzerland discovered this interesting way to use feathers. The chicken feathers, currently a type of waste product, can create an essential element in clean energy fuel cells.
Currently the membranes used to make electricity are expensive and use toxic chemicals. However, these researchers have found a way to make these membranes out of keratin. Keratin is found in both human hair and nails, but it is also found in chicken feathers. These feathers are around 90 percent keratin. This means the feathers can be used to create both a cheaper and more environmentally friendly membrane.
Using keratin has many advantages when it comes to creating energy. The first advantage is the fact that it replaces the nasty chemicals currently being used to make electricity. The second huge advantage is that it leads to less pollution. Each year 44.8 million tons of feathers are burnt. This, unsurprisingly, puts off a lot of toxic gas and CO2. Using these feathers to create electricity would mean a whole lot less pollution in many different ways.
Vintage Gadgets: Outdated Tech That Still Sparks Joy
A Physical Calculator
You probably haven’t seen a calculator in ages, but a Reddit user chimed in to say that, for them, the old-school scientific calculator beats the one on your phone or any app. They simply put it like this, “Honestly, a standard scientific calculator is just easier to use than your phone’s built-in scientific calculator.” It could be the fun button-tapping sound or the nostalgic thrill of typing in cheeky words with numbers that makes this person prefer calculators.
Kanizphoto/ Getty Images
Watches That Only Tell The Time
Smartwatches may pack in loads of features, but there’s a catch – they need regular charging and maintenance, and their battery life is shorter. On the flip side, traditional watches are a low-maintenance choice with longer battery life. In fact, a Redditor mentioned they still rock a “a lovely, inexpensive, bombproof, analog, big face Casio.” They also pointed out that smartwatches aren’t allowed at their job, so their trusty Casio gets the job done.
popovaphoto/ Getty Images
CD Player, MP3 Player, and Vinyl Albums
If you’ve put a ton of effort into collecting CDs and vinyl records, and creating some killer playlists, why ditch them, right? One person told their story about growing up in the ’90s, building a massive CD collection, and stashing them all in one of those Case Logic CD binders. They fondly shared, “I still keep it with me in my car and it’s a wonderful trip down memory lane every time I open it. I laughed and cried a little when my kids friend asked me what it was and I said, ‘CDs’ and they followed up with, ‘What’s that?'” But also: not everything is available on streaming services. That obscure soundtrack or tribute album from the ’80s? Licensing issues may have prevented it from hitting the streamers. Love Joni Mitchell? Well, Spotify doesn’t have her catalog. Sure, you can subscribe to another service, but if you kept your old vinyl and have a turntable, you can listen to it the old school way.
IngaNielsen/ Getty Images
"I Love Wires"
You have people who can’t stand a tangle of wires in their tech setup, and then there’s that Reddit user who’s all about the wired life. They firmly believe that wired networking is “not obsolete or outdated.” According to them, it’s superior in every aspect, except for the mobility it lacks compared to wireless. They put it simply, “Wired is the ideal, you only go wireless if running cable is unfeasible for the situation.
Diana Sand/ Getty Images
A Regular Doorbell
A regular doorbell does its job well. It lets you know someone’s at the door. On the other hand, a video doorbell does the same but with the perk of letting you see and hear the person at your door, even if you’re not home. Someone mentioned they’d be up for a smart doorbell if it kept the data local. They said, “I don’t want anything being sent online, so I might need to set up my own system… I’ll just stick with the traditional kind.”
eurobanks/ Getty Images
Physical Buttons
A Redditor shared their affection for good old physical buttons, arguing that not everything needs to go the touchscreen route. They stressed the importance of having car radios equipped with buttons rather than screens, believing it’s a safer choice. They explained, “It’s easier for me to push a button to change the music while keeping my eyes on the road/ I can’t do that if my car has a screen. It increases distracted driving incidents.”
Supersmario/ Getty Images
