It’s easy to lie to ourselves about how much we’ve had to drink. Now we can look to our ice cubes to tell us the truth.
MIT student Dhairya Dand has developed a clear, glowing ‘ice cube’ that flashes different colors as alcohol consumption increases. The cubes contain a colored LED, sensors and a battery, all of which are encased in a substance that won’t dissolve and won’t change the taste of your drink. An accelerometer keeps up with the number of sips a person takes and calculates the level of intoxication. The cubes turn from green to red when it’s time to turn off the tap.
Dand came up with the idea after a rough night of imbibing—he thought he’d only had a couple of drinks until he woke up in a hospital and learned he’d blacked out after far more. To save others from a similar experience he figured a bright, visual cue would get the message across that it’s time to slow down. If one keeps drinking the cube goes a step further and texts a designated friend to step in for a little extra convincing. To up the fun factor, the cubes flash in time to ambient party music.
Dand told ABC News he only spent $50 on the prototype, and as a believer in open sourcing he’s willing to share the technology with other inventors.
