Stephen Colbert ridicules Vessyl’s digital cup

In case you haven’t had enough oddball product madness after that potato salad fiasco on Kickstarter, comedian Stephen Colbert has a hot tip for you: The Vessyl digital cup, which lets you know what you’re drinking and how many calories it contains, all while acting as a normal cup.

In typical Colbert fashion, the TV host explained the cup and its information output in the most sarcastic way possible on last night’s episode of The Colbert Report: “That level of information was previously available only on the can you just poured it out of.”

He did offer a few instances where Vessyl might come in handy. Like those times when you order a Coke and think it tastes like a Diet Coke, “but you aren’t sure,” he said. “And, perhaps other times.”

Colbert’s analysis of the Vessyl continued to the project’s buzzword-filled video. After all, the smart cup does have the capability to track your hydration needs in “real time.”

“This real time works quickly,” said Colbert. He then showed a quick clip from the promo video that features a man pouring a beer from a can into Vessyl only to have the device light up and confirm the contents as beer. “It’s like he’s not even drinking alone anymore!”

And that leads us to a shot of a blueprint-covered table, displaying the Vessyl’s careful design that apparently took seven years to create. “It holds liquid and can stand upright on a table. Is there any aspect of being a cup this cup cant do?” Colbert asks.

Colbert finishes his critique by offering up his own hydration monitoring device. But I won’t spoil it.

Oddball products aren’t exactly new. Just a few weeks ago, the Fleshlight Launchpad made its debut for people who are — ahem — enthusiastic about their iPads. And Colbert himself recently poked fun at the Yo messaging app, which allows people to say “yo” to their friends.

Vessyl was launched on June 12, 2014 by Mark One, a team led by Justin Lee. The digital cup can be pre-ordered now for $99 but won’t be available to ship until early next year. The retail price is slated to be $199.