‘I drank water from fecal sludge’: Bill Gates reveals strange things he has done for a good cause

American billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates spilled the beans about some of the odd things he has done throughout his life. Gates acknowledged engaging in "some weird crap throughout the years". He said he even smelled the stench produced in latrine pits and drank water from fecal sludge, a mixture of solid and liquid waste that builds up in systems like septic tanks.

In a LinkedIn post, he wrote, "I drank water from fecal sludge with Jimmy Fallon (US comedian), shared the stage with a jar of human feces, and smelled pit latrine odor.” However, as the post explains, all of these acts were done for a good cause.

"These antics got a few laughs, but my goal has always been to get people to care about an issue that impacts 3.6 billion people: poor sanitation. Thanks to scientists and engineers from around the world, we're getting closer to new solutions that will prevent disease and illness," the philanthropist added.

One of the incidents referred to by Gates occurred in November 2018, when he brandished a jar of human waste at a forum on the future of the toilet in Beijing to draw attention to a global problem affecting developing countries: a lack of toilets.

The post also included a link to a blog post from July 2021 about new sanitation solutions in the face of rising population. In the blog post, he explained how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation "challenged the world to reinvent the toilet" ten years ago.

In his blog, Gates stated that approximately 3.6 billion people, or close to half of the world's population, lack access to toilets or practice poor sanitation.

"Living without a toilet is more than an inconvenience. It’s dangerous. Unsafe sanitation means contaminated water, soil, and food. It causes illness and death," the Microsoft founder noted.

"According to the latest estimates, diarrhea and other sanitation-related diseases kill nearly 500,000 children under the age of five every year."

Through his and ex-wife's charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropist is dedicated to addressing a wide range of global issues.

The billionaire philanthropist also teamed up with Samsung in September to develop a waterless toilet prototype for domestic use that converts solid waste into ashes. The billionaire philanthropist has been working to discover and provide better sanitation solutions.