UPDATE: I asked an experienced engineer friend to comment on this technology to see whether we could determine if it were genuine or not, it is patent pending and lots of people have discussed it for several months now, including a blogger who posted the video on April 1st…
Anyway, my engineer friend, Chris Moller of Evonet Telecommunications and IT Consultancy had this to say: “No, not a hoax. The top of the PTFE film is stationary. The middle is steel and moves at x. The bottom PTFE film moves at 2x. Gloop normally distorts because you’re sliding something under it, creating a shear force. In this case, the relative speed of the gloop and film is always zero – clever. Interesting to note that the video didn’t show picking up off tissue – only putting it on!”
Scoop the gloop – Japanese technology known as "SWITL" uses a hydrophobic (water hating) material to scoop up gels and other semi-liquids on to a motorized conveyor-belt system without disturbing the material’s shape. Watch the video, it looks like a trick, but seemingly is just great tech. This first did the rounds in March, but the demo video is beginning to stick now. The applications for automated food processing and packing are endless, but for parents everywhere the possibility of a de-toddlerizing spill reversal gadget is perhaps too good to be true.