The Quenchapult

Inspiration

Are you ever thirsty, but too busy to raise a glass to your lips? Would you rather have a motorized arm launch several ounces of water directly at your face? Well, then the Quenchapult is the product for you.

What it does

Quite simply, the Quenchapult uses advanced, modern circuitry and crappy, outdated woodworking to inefficiently maneuver water into the user's mouth at substantial velocities. With the utterance of a simple phrase, your very own face can be soaked in the water you were too lazy to lift yourself. Using a lever attached to a literal Minecraft chestplate, the Quenchapult delivers a cup of water, or really whatever you want, to a location guaranteed to be within a foot of your mouth. The technology of tomorrow, driven by laziness today.

How we built it

With a body made entirely of high quality scrap wood, the Quenchapult is built to last. Held together by superglue and 32 screws, we really can't guarantee that this won't fall apart the first time we test it. Nevertheless, the Quenchapult was built with consumers in mind by amateur woodworkers and uncertified electrical engineers. We also 3D printed some parts.

Challenges we ran into

"I think the biggest challenge for any engineer is avoiding making the build absolute crap. That was our main struggle." - Jonathan Choi, Executive Producer

"I didn't say that..." - Jonathan Choi, No Longer Executive Producer

Accomplishments that we're proud of

"Walking around with the Quenchapult's wooden chestplate on, I really feel like I can finally be myself." - Josh Herring, New Executive Producer

"I really feel like our biggest accomplishment is actually having it do anything. We definitely burned through multiple circuit boards just trying to get the motor to run. They really did have us in the first half." - Sam Roquitte, Co-Executive Producer

What we learned

"I think the biggest takeaway here is that when you set your mind to a task, you can get it done. All it took to make this project happen was a little teamwork and a lot of perseverance. And even if you don't come up with a working project, you can at least have fun trying. Hack-a-thons aren't about the competition or even what you create. When it comes down to it, hack-a-thons are a place for new ideas to flourish, talents to be discovered, and friendships to be forged." - Nelson Mandela

"Josh looked like an idiot." - Matt Kelsey, Co-Co-Executive Producer

What's next for The Quenchapult

With a bright future on the horizon, we can only say that the Quenchapult is going places. 'What places?' you may ask. Quite honestly, we don't know ourselves. But we're sure it's going somewhere. Will it end up sitting in one of our dorms for the next few months, collecting dust, fried by the very water it strove to give its user? Or, will the Quenchapult end up being the choice product of the future, praised by many as a prime example of innovation? Truly, only time will tell.