America
Indian-origin student develops water-resistant socks
Washington, July 29
A 23-year-old
Indian-origin student in the US has developed water-resistant socks and
launched a successful kickstarter campaign that blew past its business
goal within two days, a media report said.
Jaspreet Singh, a law
student at Wayne State University in Detroit, came up with the idea of
water-resistant socks in a public speaking class at the University of
Michigan where he was supposed to pitch a business idea, The Detroit
News reported on Tuesday.
After a year and a half, Singh created the 5 Water Socks brand after much research, testing and development.
He
got a working prototype for hydrophobic athletic socks and launched a
successful kickstarter campaign that sought to raise $10,000, but
brought in more than $21,300 within two days.
Kickstarter is a US-based global crowd-funding platform.
The
first of the socks will be produced in a North Carolina facility in
August and September and should be shipped out by October, the report
said.
The socks developed by the Indian-origin student are
breathable and feel like any regular pair of athletic socks, but when
they come into contact with liquids, the fibres, which have been fused
with water-resistant particles, cause the liquid to bead up and run off.
When submerged, they will get wet, but not as quickly and they will dry faster, he said.
"There
are socks that are completely waterproof, but it's a different market,"
he said. "They aren't breathable, they don't feel soft. These are for
everyday use."
The name, 5 Water Socks, is inspired by Punjab as
well as Detroit, where he was born. Five for the Great Lakes and also
because Punjab is referred as "the land of five rivers".