| It is a uniquely modern complaint; Going to a bar with friends, only to find they spend the entire time playing with their smartphones instead of engaging in conversation.
One bar in Brazil has found a way to fix this anti-social problem, and for once, the solution was found at the bottom of a glass.
Salve Jorge Bar in São Paulo has introduced a beer glass that can only stand upright when placed on top of a phone.
A section of the base of the glass has been cut out, to make drinkers focus on their friends, as opposed to their screens.
Typically, drinkers would put down their glasses to pick up their phones, to surf the internet, or check social media sites, but doing so with this glass will result in your drink being spilled.
Designed by advertising agency Fischer & Friends, the 'Offline Glass' is designed to 'save people from the online world'.
The designers have even addressed potentially damaging condensation from the cold beer dripping into an expensive smartphone and reeking havoc with the inner workings.
The designers say the shape of the glass has been designed so the condensation only drips down one side of the glass to fall on the table, not your phone's screen.
One slight issue maybe the different sizes of the mobile phones out in the market but this is just the first prototype and can be adapted if it takes off.
Flavius Cinira, one of the owners of the bar, told the Telegraph: 'The spirit of Salve Jorge is to bring together friends and everyday warriors, as we used to say, in a happy environment around good food and cold beer.'
Wanderley Romano, co-owner, added: 'The Offline Glass embodies this exactly. It is an invitation for people to come here, after the daily battle, turn off the online world, chat with friends and live in the reality around them, at least for a few hours.' |