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Apart from keeping houses cool, Mr Bhatia says the paint also had pest-repelling qualities as natural indigo was mixed with bright blue copper sulphate, a popular antifouling agent commonly used in paints from the 20th Century.

The coating method for galvanized steel exhibits superhydrophobicity and antifouling capabilities, effectively inhibiting the attachment of fungi, bacteria and mud.

In a statement, the museum said Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency impounded the ark in November 2019, even as it remained open to the public, because it lacked two certifications, a load line certificate and an antifouling certificate.

But according to Carl Hensman, a senior program officer at the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program at the Gates Foundation, even the fanciest new throne has to contend with the more fundamental problem of “improving antifouling”—preventing waste from sticking to toilet surfaces.

He said he’s had to start coating the bottom of his river boats with antifouling paint to prevent barnacles and other marine organisms from growing amid saltwater intrusion.