Your smartphone may actually contain more types of bacteria than your toilet. But don't worry: An experimental "toaster" is here to help.
Earlier this month, Korean e-commerce site Gmarket released a video showcasing a concept from ad agency Innored-Kinneir Dufort. It's called the "Green Toaster," and it purports to clean your phone in just a couple minutes with the help of ultraviolet rays.
The device looks exactly like a pop-up bread toaster, with a sensor-activating lever and slots that hold up to two smartphones. Once your phone is inside, the Green Toaster will emit UV rays, destroying bacteria on the phone's surface.
The companies did not respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post, and it's a bit unclear if the Green Toaster will ever be available to consumers. But the science behind it is sound: Strong UV light rays can successfully kill cells by damaging their DNA, per a 1998 Scientific American report.
Check out the Green Toaster in action:
Craig Wightman, the lead designer of the Green Toaster, says in the video that the device could be placed in cafes so people can sterilize their smartphones in a "sociable" setting, such as a cafe. Order a cappuccino, and your phone will be clean before the foam's added.
This actually isn't the only device that uses UV rays to clean smartphones. There's also the PhoneSoap Charger, a box consisting of two short-wave UV light ramps that can destroy bacteria while charging smartphones.
People check their phones about 150 times a day, according to a 2013 Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers report on Internet trends, and we can't even resist taking them to the bathroom with us. So, we'd really, really love the Green Toaster to become a reality.
H/T Springwise