Discussed at the time:<p><i>Bottle light inventor proud to be poor</i> - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6203142">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6203142</a> - Aug 2013 (80 comments)
Very cool. I was surprised to see the 40W-60W equivalent value; that's much better than I would have guessed, but makes sense based on the Philippine's equatorial location. Kind of like a modern-day deck prism.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_prism" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_prism</a>
So cool to see this come around again. I borrowed this idea for my Peace Corps project back in ~2011: <a href="https://gamlight.org/" rel="nofollow">https://gamlight.org/</a> Not the originator of the idea by any means—I found this by way of Liter of Light—but I've spent a fair amount of time on rooftops punching these things in, AMA.
Proud to be poor is an interesting emotion. The Bible writes that it is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than a camel through the thread of a needle. I wonder what the psychological reasoning is based on. Is it an evolutionary adaption? Like a male peacock with its anti-fit unhandy tail. A way to communicate fitness?<p>"See how I thrive despite my poverty!"<p>I wonder...
I am surprised that there aren't problems with leaks. Also 2-litre plastic bottles are not UV resistant so after a summer in the sun I'd think they would be falling apart.