Saudi prince towed Alaskan iceberg to Iowa in 1977 for drinking-water pitch
In 1977, a Saudi prince transported a two-tonne iceberg from Alaska to Iowa to demonstrate a potential solution for water scarcity in the Middle East. The stunt served as a pitch for his desalination and iceberg utilization initiatives during an international conference.
Why it matters
It serves as a historical case study on the intersection of extreme wealth, environmental engineering, and early global awareness of water scarcity.
The royals across the world are known to pull numerous extravagant moves with an aim to impress. While Cleopatra made guests dine on gold plates, King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France built temporary palaces of brick and glass for a meeting. But in modern times, such grand gestures have been slightly uncalled for, especially when they are pointing at something the world is trying hard to ignore, climate change.In 1977, Saudi prince Mohammed bin Faisal, son of the reigning king and head of Saudi Arabia's Saline Water Conversion Corporation paid to tow a chunk of Alaskan iceberg to a conference in landlocked Iowa, serving guests 4,000-year-old ice in their drinks to prove his plan of shipping icebergs to Arabia for drinking water.
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