By Evan Ackerman

If that’s not one of the weirdest things you’ve ever seen, you’ve been spending too much time on the internet (make sure you watch until 1:50 at least). Heatswell, as it’s called, is an instant hot beverage protection sleeve that “grows” out of the cup when hot liquid is poured in. Whatever it’s made of, it’s non-toxic (they say), recyclable, biodegradable, FDA approved (for whatever that’s worth), and feels like a cloth towel. The 3D logo effect is pretty cool too, I can only assume that the ink is conducting heat substantially better than the rest of the cup is. It appears as though the Heatswell material is sort of painted on (applied as a liquid), and it also looks like the hotter the beverage, the more vigorous the reaction, which means you’ll get more padding. Nice.

Amron Experimental is billing this as cost-saving and convenient for places like coffee shops, since they don’t have to spend time and money on an additional little thingy for each cup. They don’t talk about the cost it would add to each cup, however, and my guess is that whatever the heck is in this stuff, it probably costs more than a sliver of cardboard. If you’re optimistic, Amron Experimental is currently selling a stake in the Heatswell intellectual property and patent filing.

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Heatswell Grows A Sleeve On Your Coffee Cup