Freddie Mercury, David Bowie invented desalination process: Telangana textbook A Telangana Class IX SSC textbook, according to a Times of India report by Nirupa Vatyam, has cited late rockstars Freddie Mercury and David Bowie as âscientistsâ, crediting them with âremoving salt from seawater using a semi-permeable membrane through a process called desalinationâ. The goof-up in the biology textbook appeared in the âDid You Knowâ section, according to the report. Thomas Jefferson is considered the inventor of the earliest forms of desalination. (LINK). Freddie Mercury, David Bowie invented desalination process: Telangana textbookHIWI042019-08-18T15:55:52+02:00