Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/08/01/does-the-world-need-a-wireless.html
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What could possibly go wrong… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication#Notable_cases
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While my kid doesn’t drink a lot of water, I would say no. If you’re thirsty, you drink.
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Q: Does the world need a wireless water bottle with a game to remind kids to drink?
A: No.
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Yup. Most creatures have this feature built in–a reminder to drink when you need water.
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A game? Are they kids or Pokemon?
Your kid exploded.
Achievement unlocked!
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Except for a surprisingly large number of elderly people start to lose their thirst reflex, and
can suffer dehydration, which can be very deadly. This device with some modifications could help
caretakers ensure that elderly people were drinking enough fluids during the day.
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It’s like the internet is conspiring to ‘gamify’ rage at this point.
That’s really interesting. This product could really help people who have lost their thirst reflex. This company should pivot.
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Yep, approach this with a bit more dignity and it could really help seniors and anyone with a medical condition that keeps them from feeling thirst. I don’t think a game approach is all that likely to help that particular demographic, but a reminder could be nice. I’d bet nursing homes and assisted living facilites would buy them.
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No. They do not. Drink when you’re thirsty, that’s really all you need to do. The “eight glasses of water a day” isn’t based on any kind of fact, it’s just a meme that’s been around forever.
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But is homeostasis even worth the trouble without IoT-enabled, gameified, quantified, social hydration?
(speaking of gameified social hydration; how long before it features an Alexa-connected trivia quiz/current events/sportsball/etc. drinking game mode that the manufacturer officially is horrified by?)
Yeah, my 90-something grandmother needs to be reminded to drink water, as she doesn’t drink enough and gets dehydrated. But all these recent electronic products that remind people to drink water aren’t targeting people like my grandmother, who would never figure out how to use them and would probably miss the notifications anyways even if she did. On the other hand, the average person doesn’t have any use for items like this. They’re absurd.
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Do you have to plug it in to charge it to play the game? Children + water + electrical outlets. What could possibly go wrong?
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You’re just jealous because it’s a not a featured product on the boingboing store.
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Well for older people tie it into medication. Not the just medications they should be taking but the medication they LIKE to take.
So, they’ll have to drink the entire bottle before they unlock the chamber of lortabs and tamadol at the bottom.
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Kids will DEF play that game.
The problem: statistics show that a significant number of children aren’t drinking enough water.
Their solution: sell a toy that encourages water-drinking to privileged children who already have access to clean drinking water.
Sounds to me like they misunderstand the problem severely. If, as the commercial states, 50% of kids are under-hydrated, maybe it’s because many of them can’t find water that they can drink, not because they think drinking it is boring.
Ugh, these people suck.
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How nice. A game. But does it also come with clean water? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/us/tapwater-drinking-water-study.html
If the person is reasonably cognitively intact, an alarm clock will do the job just as well.
OTOH, if they’re too badly affected by dementia for that to work, they require a caretaker. You don’t leave survival-critical care up to a gadget that may or may not be effective on any given day.
