For over 100 years, the East River in New York has been avoided by swimmers due to the extensive amount of pollution it has received from the city. The East River is only one of many polluted bodies of water in populated areas across the world. There have been many attempts to clean up bodies of water such as the East River, but only one such idea managed to catch the attention of TIME, who added it to their top 25 inventions of 2013.
Diagram: pluspool.org
+ Pool is a project funded by Kickstarter that is expected to be completed by the year 2016 and involves a giant, plus-shaped pool (imagine that) that floats around in the middle of the East River. Yes, it sounds like a stupid idea, but that isn’t all there is to it. Not only will the pool allow swimmers back in the river by enabling them to swim in the + Pool, but it will also help to filter the river and continue to keep it clean as long as the pool resides there.
The reason for the plus shape is so that different activities can take place separately, but simultaneously, to entertain both those who want to exercise and those who want to have fun. It includes a “Kid’s pool, Sports pool, Lap pool and Lounge pool.” Those behind the idea hope that New Yorkers will soon change all their preconceived notions about the East River.
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