Since the 1930s, the infamous “plop, plop, fizz, fizz” sound of two effervescent Alka-Seltzers into a cup of hot water has been associated with the relief of everything from indigestion to hangovers.
Now, dunking a piece of meltable bioplastic may also be the source of a cure for many common everyday headaches, too.
Designed and developed by UK designer Peter Marigold, the FORMcard is a credit card-sized piece of meltable plastic that, when dunked into a cup of hot water, can be molded to solve a myriad of everyday problems. When it’s time to reuse it, the cooled and custom-shaped form can be reheated again to provide the form factor for an entirely different purpose – similar to the equally-moldable-but-not-quite-as-durable Sugru.
“Normally, these types of thermoplastics are supplied in granulated form, which makes them awkward to use; the granules have to be squashed together, which is messy, wasteful and sometimes even painful,” explains Marigold. “So I developed it into a flat card form, that would always be around and always be ready to use. The size and thickness of the card are exactly the right amount of material for the most common types of quick fixes.”
Whether you’re a professional handyman who is always hacking tools for specific jobs or a design student who is looking for a cleaner alternative to modeling clay, it’s hard to deny that the FORMcards are a great addition to anybody’s tool arsenal.
Head over to Marigold’s Kickstarter page through the next two weeks to get a 3-pack of the FORMcards starting at just $8.
