Alan Jacobs

With more and more work using nanotechnology create clothing and other materials that are resistant to water and staining, it may not be too long before we never have to do the laundry again – because our clothes are always clean. Imagine the time, money, energy and money that would save. Especially imagine the benefits for people living in developing countries where all the laundry is done by hand. Not only does the lack of laundry mean cleaner water, it means that people can be spared hours of tedious, backbreaking labor. This is one of those things that seems kind of neat at first – hey look, no stains! But when you think about it, the ramifications for day to day life are pretty extraordinary. I’m excited to see where this technology goes. Also, I look forward to never having to do laundry again. I’m also glad that robots won’t be doing the laundry, either. That’s just one less reason for them to want to rise up and overthrow their human masters.