We don't recommend trying this at home, but soon, it might be the way your home gets drinking water.

Microsoft founder and human-rights activist Bill Gates where he took a sip of water, which in itself isn't a major news story. But it's where the water came from that's both shocking and a little nauseating.

Gates drank water that came from human waste.

(MORE: )

The incredible transformation from human waste to potable water , a huge machine that's funded by the Gates Foundation, according to NPR. The nasty sludge is put into the machine, which separates waste from water vapor. The water vapor is then cleansed by being filtered several times after being boiled, and it becomes clean water.

"A shocking number of people, at least 2 billion, use latrines that aren’t properly drained," Gates explained on his blog. "Others simply defecate out in the open. The waste contaminates drinking water for millions of people, with horrific consequences: Diseases caused by poor sanitation kill some 700,000 children every year, and they prevent many more from fully developing mentally and physically."

The technology of turning wastewater into drinking water is already being used in some American towns where the reservoirs are running dry. Over the summer, Wichita Falls, Texas, began mixing treated wastewater with lake water for the residents to drink. There were a few complaints about the way the water tasted, but , according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Images of a Severe Drought in Brazil