Infomercials are notoriously tough to take seriously. Anyone with minor computer familiarity can sniff out the "MALWARE IS COMING NOW" 3am appeals. And even though something like the Slap Chop works, its autotune remix tends to be more famous than the actual product.
The newest infomercial to go viral, however, appears to have a surprising level of credibility. Take a look at Ultra Ever Dry, a "revolutionary super hydrophobic coating that repels water and refined oils using nanotechnology." The demonstration video is nearing 500,000 views in a little more than two weeks, and it already received attention from The Daily Mail, i09, and NPR (where it was written up by Radiolab's Robert Krulwich no less).
As any fan of the old PitchMen series knows, a good infomercial relies heavily on a wow-inspiring demo. Ultra Ever Dry is no different, with a series of coated vs. uncoated demos showing everything from concrete to oils unable to penetrate a layer of Ultra Ever Dry. Below, you can see some before-and-after screen grabs of gardening gloves with mud or a side-by-side of a funnel and paint (Another favorite: a piece of glass is framed with a perimeter coating of the substance and beads of green test liquid flow quickly to the center.)
The Ultra Ever Dry website lacks much in the way of information beyond pricing and availability (it's $96 for a quart of the top coat, $53/quart for the base). And, naturally, the components appear to be proprietary and the company offering it seems to be a distributor (so no immediate clues on how the substance works or opportunities to check out the patents). A related instructional video reveals a few more details about the product itself. It's potentially dangerous to the point that a user should use gloves and goggles, it can survive temperatures between -30 and 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and abrasions may impact performance.
Plus, a safety data sheet helpfully notes that it has a "fragrant mint like odor."
Ars is considering testing some of this product around the Orbiting HQ, but in the meantime we've certainly been dreaming about the possibilities should this prove viable. If you can solve the abrasion issue, could such nanotechnologies eventually evolve to help air travel during inclement weather? Even as is, might this help keep keyboards everywhere safe from errant coffee and water bottles? For what it's worth, Krulwich had an even wilder test scenario suggestion—what happens if a person coats themselves then dives into a pool? (Could make moderately entertaining fiction, certainly).
What potential applications or test cases would you most want to see for the nanotechnology Ultra Ever Dry boasts? Share the hypotheticals you've read so far or offer up your own in the comments below.
Listing image by Ultra Ever Dry
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