This drinking vessel is a love letter to Rube Goldberg. It is a relatively minimalist Goldberg machine that uses chain reactions and mechanical devices to over complicate the simple act of drinking water. It takes water through three states of matter before it is ready for consumption, where a larger resource of water is vaporized to melt a small ice cube into a teacup.

The 4 minute wait time till all that water boils and then finally when one drop from the ice melts and falls into the teacup - it is mesmerizing, theatrical even. However, the satire is in the big chunk of water that goes unnoticed. Using the fundamental superfluous quality of goldberg machines, the global water crisis is highlighted. The waste of resources, lack of rainwater harvesting, and proper management will eventually lead to a disproportionate distribution of drinking water as shown here.

Disclaimer: this is not a critique OF goldberg machines, they are great and we love them.