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The math: Does peeing in the shower save water?
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It might be embarrassing to admit, but if youve ever peed in the shower youre not alone. - photo by Natalie Crofts
Natalie Crofts
KSL.com
Published: Jun 20, 2016, 1:05 PM
It might be embarrassing to admit, but if youve ever peed in the shower youre not alone.

In one extremely informal BuzzFeed survey from August 2015, 81 percent of those who participated reported using their shower as a second toilet while bathing. Similarly, a poll from Glamour in 2009 found that 75 percent of the 1,000 women they talked to had peed in the shower.

Some claim taking advantage of shower time to relieve oneself could help with water conservation, so a reporter from IFL Science recently set out to crunch the numbers. In a story posted Thursday, Robin Andrews said the average adult urinates about 7 times a day, bringing the total of water flushed down the toilet in the U.S. in one year to 1.3 trillion gallons.

If you peed in the shower, youd massively reduce this figure, he wrote. Say that this means that you only pee in a toilet six, not seven times, per day. This means that in just one year, youd save 2,190 liters (579 gallons) of toilet water. Extrapolating this to the entire U.S. population, thats 699 billion liters (185 billion gallons) of water saved.

He concluded that if everyone urinated in the shower, it could make a real difference.

While urine is often believed to be sterile, a 2014 study from Loyola University Chicago suggests that it is not. So, if you decide to pee in the shower just be sure to clean it regularly which you should already be doing anyways.

Have you ever urinated in the shower? Share your opinions in the comment section.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.