Icy Hot News from Israel

While those of us living in Jerusalem were welcoming in the month of Kislev / December, this past Shabbat, with 80 degree weather, rumor has it that in New York the snow was falling.

Well, to all of you New Yorkers (and others) who are not looking forward to another winter of having to scrape the ice of your windshield, well your prayers have finally been answered (Courtesy of Israel 21C):

One cold and snowy winter's day in 1994, Solomon Franco was on his way to law school in London when the Israeli student discovered that his windshield had iced over in the night... He then began to ruminate on how it was possible that humanity has developed the technology to reach the moon, but still hasn't figured out a way to automatically and simply clear windshields of snow and ice.

With this in mind, Franco dropped out of law school and on his return to Israel, he met Vycheslav Ivanov, a new immigrant from the Soviet Union, who had worked for the Russian space agency.

Together he and Ivanov set up Microheat in 1997. Eight years on, with Ivanov serving as the company's Chief Technical Officer, Franco and his company has finally solved the problem and achieved his goal.

Microheat has not only developed HotShot, an intelligent heated washer fluid system for clearing and de-icing windshields, but the Michigan-based company has signed agreements with General Motors, and virtually every other auto manufacturer in the world.

So, the next time you are able to sit warmly in your car and are spared from having to scrape the ice of your windshield in the cold of winter, let some of that warmth spread to your heart, and be thankful for yet another technological innovation, courtesy of the Jewish State of Israel, which will redefine the way you live your life (See: Motorola, Intel, ICQ...).

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