Rather like hangovers, occasionally a product comes along and whacks you between the eyes with such force that it leaves you reeling and useless for days to come*. Such are the oxymoronic qualities of the Rotgutonix that I'm torn between thinking, "preposterously clever idea" and, "only a tool would carry one of those around with him." As such, my ability to analyse spanky bits of technology today may be severely impaired.

The Rotgutonix looks and works rather like a pregnancy test. Remove the top, stick the "nib" bit in your drink** and lo and bloody behold, you can discover whether the drink that Pedro the beverage technician down your local liquor emporium has just served you is the real deal or not. It currently only works with six brands of booze — all of them big favourites in designer Emilio Alarcon's native Spain*** — but there are plans to increase the tester's range.

*Let us praise the Lord as I'm off on my holidays tomorrow.
**This is not a euphemism.
***As a former resident of Madrid, where gut rot, or garrafon, was a way of life in some of the more dubious bars I used to frequent, I can see that Alarcon's product has got a point.

Curiosite Via Engadget