The Engineering of a Disposable Diaper [video] | Hacker News Reader

The Engineering of a Disposable Diaper [video]

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94 pointsmhb13 comments

Disposable Diapers are the most technically advanced thing that mankind has ever produced. Before becoming a parent, I used to wonder why we as a civilization have never sent a manned mission to Mars, cured Cancer, or invented a working Hoverboard. Now I understand where all of our Engineering resources went instead.

We used Cloth diapers for a while with kid #1, and they are in fact amazing at what they do, given what they're made of. But they can't hold fourteen gallons of urine for an entire weekend, so it doesn't matter.

I console myself by envisioning a future society threatened with imminent destruction, saving itself by mining the landfills of the 21st century for large quantities of highly absorbent material and perfectly preserved infant urine.

The planet is saved. Thanks, Disposable Diapers.

One of the things I found interesting is how much pressure supermarkets exert to reduce the size of diaper packages. Thar shelf space is expensive, and any company with a technical advantage that allows them to fit more on the shelf (and thus sell more) will do well.

I tongue in cheek predict the disposable diaper industry will be the first to make the breakthrough discovery how to manufacture Drexlerian nanotechnology.

Behold, the ultimate diaper: DRM-protected encrypted software-driven, subscription-licensed nanotech mites turn your precious ones' pee and poo into pleasant, copyright-protected scents by the FLAG (FebrezeLysolAirwickGlade) conglomerate.

They even inspired a fire protectant foam:

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/9810/16/t_t/pampering.fire/i...

http://firegel.com/

Bill's videos are consistently some of the best stuff on YouTube, in my opinion. Even the early, super corny, stuff was great.

Their series on the Harmonic Analyser was especially interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0INsTTU1k2UYO9Mck-i5...

That is definitely some neat engineering and manufacturing. The downside is how much landfill waste is created.

It's also interesting how we've been using the same principles with cloth diapers for a long time using cotton, fleece, wool, bamboo, and plastic covers.

The NEARTA site has a lot of interesting info on disposable diapers vs. reusable ones. If you're of a technical mind start off with the analysis of SW-152c: https://www.nearta.com/Papers/SW152cAnalysis.pdf but then look at the cost comparison: https://www.nearta.com/Papers/DiaperCostComparison.pdf and the review on the (surprising) impact to municipal governments: https://www.nearta.com/Papers/GovernmentDiapers.pdf You're probably not aware of it, but there's a good chance you're subsidizing your neighbor's disposable diapers.

I always wondered why I'd occasionally see blue crystals. Turns out they're mostly water.

It's a magnificent thing, the disposable diaper. My second kid is six months, using a good few each day. And it somehow costs barely anything. Much easier than washing cloths or whatever people did before.

> using a good few each day.

Just the thought of all the plastic and other waste that'll probably float around for another few hundred years makes me sad. Humans really aren't such good stewards of the planet :(.

They get burned to energy in many places.

There is a renewed interest for washable diapers (see e.g. http://www.mothercare.com). They are really easy to use and wash. The initial cost is in fact lower than the cumulative cost of disposable diapers after some months. This is an alternative worth considering.

I use such washable diapers for my kid since day one. he's two year old, and I've probably saved a ton of landfill (800 days * 5 per-day * 250gr (??) = 1 Ton (!!!).

What's scarier is how plastic diapers are pushed in the developing world, specifically India - where there is no proper landfills, which escalates this problem considerably.

Modern washable diapers aren't what you parents used, they are slick and simple to use. highly recommended.

Also, disposable diapers delayed potty training 1 year; cloth diapers help to deal better with it: http://www.thirstiesbaby.com/blog/how-disposable-diapers-hav...

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