Win $75K for Solar Oven Invention - Did You Know?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around a recent contest in which an individual won $75,000 for a solar oven invention, prompting participants to reflect on the simplicity of the concept and its historical use. The conversation explores the perceived novelty of the invention, comparisons to past experiences with solar cooking, and reactions to the contest outcome.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration over the simplicity of the solar oven design, suggesting it is a concept that has been known and used for a long time.
  • Others recount personal experiences with solar cooking, such as using Dutch ovens and reflective materials in Boy Scouts, indicating that similar methods have been employed historically.
  • A few participants question the originality of the invention, suggesting that the innovation may lie in the specific design of the solar oven rather than the underlying principle.
  • One participant humorously notes the irony of winning competitions, reflecting on their own experiences with contests and scholarships.
  • Another participant highlights the marketing aspect of the invention, suggesting that finding a way to monetize a simple idea can be seen as a form of genius.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express disagreement regarding the merit of the invention and the contest outcome, with multiple competing views on the originality and value of the solar oven concept. The discussion remains unresolved, with no consensus on the appropriateness of the award.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various historical methods of solar cooking and express differing opinions on what constitutes innovation in this context. There is also mention of the need for further research into existing solar oven designs.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring the history of solar cooking, innovation in simple technologies, or the dynamics of competition and awards in creative fields.

minger
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You won $75k for WHAT??

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/09/solar.oven.global.warming/index.html
http://www.forumforthefuture.org/blog/solar-cooker-wins-climate-change-challenge

So, this guy wins $75,000 for putting aluminum foil on the inside of a cardboard box, thereby "inventing" a solar powered oven. Did anyone else do similar things, or see this kind of thing when they were kids? I remember Bill Nye and Mr. Wizard doing this exact same thing.

I guess I'm just surly because I'm still paying off student loans and this guy is making bank on a really easy simple concept that's been around for ages. I mean, you give Les Stroud (probably my father) a cardboard box, some aluminum foil, a pot, and whatever he can find in the Brazilian jungle, and I imagine he'd be able to build an induction oven that can boil water in 90s or less.
 
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I heard about it on the radio, and had a similar thought, that I'd seen it or something similar several times. In Boy Scouts, we had a Dutch oven the reflected sunlight from Al sheet onto another sheet which we used to cook (or boil water) during afternoons in summer.

Perhaps the innovation is putting the hot box in another box, and covering the top with perspex.


One would have to research solar ovens to see if it's been reported on the internet before.
 


Seems like he put a HotPot
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d0/HotPot-cooking-vessel.jpg
inside a CooKit Solar Panel Cooker
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/Solar-Panel-Cooker-in-front-of-hut.jpg
 
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That's just irritating. $75,000?! That would keep me in beer and smokes for almost a month.
 


http://www.selfsufficientish.com/solaroven.htm

And hay box Cooking are ancient.
 
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wolram said:
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/solaroven.htm

And hay box Cooking are ancient.
That site has a link to http://www.solarcooking.org/

and a page of plans

http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/default.htm


There was a comment form on a page announcing the contest winner. I made the comment that it seems that the Kyoto box has been done before. I wonder if my comment will be published.
 
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Idiots always win competitions like this because its always idiots that are in charge of them. This reminds me of all the scholarships I've lost in the past to liberal arts majors.
 


Topher925 said:
Idiots always win competitions like this

True, I often win competitions.My best win was an out of date tin of beans at a village fete.
 


Astronuc said:
I heard about it on the radio, and had a similar thought, that I'd seen it or something similar several times. In Boy Scouts, we had a Dutch oven the reflected sunlight from Al sheet onto another sheet which we used to cook (or boil water) during afternoons in summer.

Perhaps the innovation is putting the hot box in another box, and covering the top with perspex.


One would have to research solar ovens to see if it's been reported on the internet before.

Aren't http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_oven" somewhat different, usually a heavy cast iron kettle with a equally heavy lid. Designed to be covered with hot coals and used for baking and/or roasting anything from a cake or biscuits to a large beef roast.
We called the Al foil contraptions, which were more common then dutch ovens, reflector ovens.
 
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  • #10


Jealousy is ugly on you guys. Sure, he used an old solution everyone's seen in middle school science class (heck even I made a solar oven with a parabolic reflector that could melt copper in college), but he found someone that was actually dumb enough to give him 75 grand for it! That's what I call genius marketing, and I would have done the same thing given the chance :wink:
 
  • #11


When's the next contest? :P