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Berkeley prof: ‘Mystery plumber’ may have designed the new BP containment cap

When BP's newest spill-containment strategy in the Gulf yielded such encouraging initial results, many asked why the oil giant didn't hit on this solution earlier in the crisis.

The short answer is that the model of the well cap now in place didn't exist in the earlier stages of the spill saga. But what's more noteworthy than the timing issue is the likelihood that the device owes its origin to the same authority that any homeowner turns to in order to get a leak plugged: a professional plumber.