You may remember Scott Amron from his Brush & Rinse toothbrush, which channels a jet of rinsing water into your mouth. Or his Keybrid, a split-ring key with its own keyring built-in. Both of these concept designs made it to market, which sends a chill of fear through me as I consider that one day, I may actually see his new invention in the wild.
The Heatswell is an endothermic (heat-activated) coating for a paper coffee-cup. When that cup is filled with a tasty hot beverage, the band swells into a thick, insulating cloth-like material, offering both grip and heat-protection for your fingers. It’s thin, safe and cheaper than a cup and collar together. So what’s the problem? Take a look at the video. The Heatswell does indeed swell impressively, only it swells like a diseased tree-trunk blistering under napalm.
The end of the video has even more terrifying mutations, but once we get over the accelerated cancerous growths, we can see that this cup could actually end up in a Starbucks near you (and trust me, there is a Starbucks near you). Not only is it cheaper, and made from an FDA-approved material, but it cuts out a step of the coffee-serving process and offers the opportunity for branding – although I’m not sure which company would like to see its logo ballooning like a necrotic canker.
Scott is already sending out samples. I’m hoping to get one and combine it with one of those self-heating hand-warmers for my own invention: The Heat Engine, a perpetual machine which will power the world!
Heatswell [Amron Experimental. Thanks, Scott!]
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