We hear a lot about how our technology will eventually kill us during the inevitable Robot Uprising but you can file this story under “positive uses of technology.”
With millions of Americans on lockdown or quarantine, thanks to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic people are having to engineer creative solutions to unusual problems. One such problem is running out of toilet paper thanks to panic shoppers clearing supermarket shelves.
Two friends from San Francisco prevented their TP outage from turning into a toilet emergency by using a drone to hilariously fly a roll of toilet paper across the city.
When you need that t.p. but Amazon is out, and you’re not supposed to leave your house; tech San Francisco doesn’t fail. Thank you @chenosaurus for the speedy cross city delivery- I owe you one 🧻 pic.twitter.com/Y4OZzoyCWH
— Ian Chan (@chanian) March 25, 2020
When engineer Ian Chan ran out of that oh-so-vital paper, his equally tech-savvy pal David Chen literally swooped to the rescue, piloting a drone carrying a single roll of toilet paper across the Bay Area. Talk about a friend in need.
Ok, addendum. Now with both angles. For science. cc @bloomey @cg @BWJones pic.twitter.com/eP6kDyEyKB
— Ian Chan (@chanian) March 25, 2020
The video of the special-delivery TP roll being flown across the city as it dangles in the breeze from the drone is extremely funny and Chan was quick to point out that he wasn’t making light of the severity of the pandemic but merely doing his part to spread a little joy in this uncertain time.
there’s lots of people out there (here in US and other countries) in not good spots. I’m taking it very seriously. But hopefully this dumb tweet added some brief humor / happiness into your timeline/day. Stay safe & healthy everyone.
— Ian Chan (@chanian) March 25, 2020
Of course, this isn’t the first time drones have been used for good during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A video recently went viral of a drone being ingeniously used to walk a dog (though we’re not sure how it picked up the sh*t.)
More quarantine problems (and solutions):
- People Are Sharing What They’re Eating During Quarantine And It’s All The Things
- This Map Shows Each State’s Favorite Quarantine Activity
- 24 Legitimately Funny “Quarantine Routine” Tweets
- Shop Smarter, Not Harder—20 Infographics To Plan Your Quarantine Meal Prep
- 25 Married Couples Who Are Just Trying To Keep It Together During Quarantine