Now there’s innovation, and then there’s Star Trek-like innovation. The latter of which could be used to describe Vessyl, a new drinking container that’s able to tell you exactly what you are consuming and how the liquid affects your body, according to theWire.com. Is your mind blown yet? No? Read on.
The technology inside Vessyl breaks down a beverage to a molecular level, and gives the consumer (via a smartphone app) exact information about the nutritional content of the drink, including calories, sugars, caffeine, total fat and more. Vessyl will also be able to discern between beverage types and even identify brand names — and immediately list the information directly on the container itself. (Here’s Keanu Reeves’ reaction to the news.)
Scheduled for launch in 2015, Vessyl will cost $199, though it currently has a pre-sale price of $99, and according to TheWire.com, the company has sold $50,000 worth of units to date.
While Vessyl claims to be able to name most any beverage, one beverage that might throw it for a loop — and might just make a few folks throw up — is freeze-dried broccoli sprout powder dissolved in water. Of course, you’re thinking, “why on Earth would anyone drink that?” Here’s why: it might just save your life (if you’re living in a city suffering from heavy air pollution, that is).
Based on the results of a clinical trial in which 291 Chinese men and women, who reside in one of China’s most polluted regions, consumed a half cup of broccoli sprout beverage on a daily basis, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the drink produced “rapid, significant and sustained higher levels of excretion of benzene, a known human carcinogen, and acrolein, a lung irritant.”
A brief on the study, published on Newswise.com, described the findings as notable considering the fatal impact of pollution, which is said to causes as many as seven million deaths a year globally.
“This study points to a frugal, simple and safe means that can be taken by individuals to possibly reduce some of the long-term health risks associated with air pollution,” said Thomas Kensler, PhD, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School and one of the study’s co-authors.
Certainly, it would be a boon to researchers to have the backing of a major beverage company as a way to assist in the production and distribution of broccoli sprout drinks (they really do sound strange, don’t they?) The Coca-Cola Co. might be one such option, but one shareholder has suggested that the cola giant might be facing a protracted battle by investors who want to take the company private.
David Winters, the chief executive officer of Wintergreen Advisers LLC, recently wrote a letter to Coke’s board accusing none other than legendary investor Warren Buffett of an insider deal that would result in a Coke buyout, similar to last year’s takeover of H.J. Heinz Co, according to Bloomberg.com.
“We are concerned that a similar type of sweetheart, insider deal for Coca-Cola could, in our opinion, significantly undervalue Coca-Cola and irreparably harm Coca-Cola shareholders,” Winters wrote.
Such a deal would be unprecedented considering that Coke’s market value is nearly $180 billion dollars. Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns approximately 9 percent of all outstanding shares of Coke, responded to Winters during a recent CNBC interview, stating that there “absolutely no chance” of taking the company private.