4 Teeny Life-Changing Innovations

Tea-Bag-Size Water Filtration Plant

More than 4,000 children die each day in developing countries because of a lack of clean drinking water. One solution: PUR Purifier of Water packets, developed by Procter & Gamble with the Canadian company Reliance Products. Pour a four-gram powder packet into ten liters of water, stir for five minutes, let it stand for another five minutes, then filter through any cloth (a T-shirt will do); wait 20 minutes and you're set to sip. PUR kills bacteria and viruses, removes parasites—and makes muddy water look and taste pristine. So far, the packets have cleaned up 1.63 billion liters of H₂O in developing countries; they're also perfect for emergency preparedness kits or hiking packs.

Visit PURPurifierofWater.com for retailers; $15 for six packets.