Recycled Sweat Becomes Drinking Water

Engineers in Sweden are leading the exploration in recycling human bodily fluids and turning them back into liquids to drink — yes, really.  A new machine takes sweat from your clothes and creates purified drinking water.

Designed and built by engineer Andreas Hammar, the "Sweat Machine" forces the vapor through a distillation membrane, after the clothes are spun and heated. The membrane only allows water molecules through; bacteria, clothing fibers, and salts are kept out of the drinking water.

Hammar's invention was put into use at the world's largest international youth football tournament, the Gothia Cup. In order to help raise awareness for UNICEF and its water awareness campaign, the machine was put to the test. More than 1,000 people hydrated with the recycled H20.

But if you're still grossed out by this new experiment, rest assured, you won't see the "Sweat Machine" at your gym. The unique invention will not be mass-produced. With only 0.3 ounces of water produced from one sweaty T-shirt, there are more efficient ways, such as water-purifying pills, to recycle water.