Does It Really Do That? The Wow Cup
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Kids and drinks have a rocky relationship.
If you've ever had to stop dinner to clean up a spilled drink or have been frustrated by a last minute drink-spill as you're headed out the door, no doubt, you will be pulled in by the Wow Cup commercial.
It's a new kind of sippy cup that promises no spills. But does it really do that? It's the timing of those spills sometimes too, right? The family is in a hurry, dressed to go to church, and oops -- those spills can be frustrating.
The Wow Cup says its new technology will help to tame that tension with a spill-free drinking experience, not even a drop, guaranteed.
The Wow Cup looks fun for kids and promises relief for anyone who has to clean up after them.
"Well, we have a lot of spills," said Trish Costantino, a pre-school teacher at St. Simon and Jude.
Snack time is a big deal at pre-school, and it's no different at St. Simon and Jude.
They run a tight ship. Still, spills happen -- might the Wow Cup be able to help?
It says guaranteed not to spill.
"Well this is the place to try it out, because if it's going to spill it's going to spill here," said Costantino.
Many of the children had seen the wow up on TV. It's airing a lot in children's programming and they were excited to give it a try.
The directions for use are pretty straight forward: just unscrew the lid, fill to the fill line, close it back up and drink.
The makers warn against using carbonated or hot beverages.
The magic of the Wow Cup is supposed to come from the design -- a rubbery drinking area that allows you to drink from anywhere around the cup and then seal right after you're done, preventing any spills. It guarantees no spills, and says the cup is virtually indestructible.
Then we read the directions further, which wasn't easy, because the print was so small.
We see that we're advised never to allow a child to play, walk, or run around with the cup in their hands and/or mouth. And it says never leave the child unattended with the cup.
It's important to point out those guidelines, especially because the commercial shows kids with wow cups jumping, spinning, hanging upside down, shaking and taking a night-time drink.
We did test the cup as seen on TV. To start, just trying to get the hang of getting the drink out takes a few tries.
But our little helper was able to get a drink, spill-free.
No shortage of helpers here, as we continued to test the wow cup, and the classroom rules.
Owen ran and knocked the wow cup off the table.
Much better, of course, than what the mess from a regular cup would be, but not entirely spill-free. We saw a little bit around the rim of the cup, too.
We put the Wow Cup through a rigorous test involving hopping and jumping.
Then we tried shaking and going crazy with the cup. Then we shook it very hard.
After shaking it very hard, some of the water got on a little boy's hand. After that, he tried shaking it even harder and threw the cup on the ground. When that happened, some of it came out by his feet. Then two other boys slid the boys slid the cup across the table and some water spilled out of the cup and onto the table.
And in the end, there were some thumbs up, and some down for the Wow Cup. The teacher kind of liked it and took an opportunity to reinforce the regular rules of the room.
"I think it was OK, unless you're throwing it up in the air, which we don't do in here, right girls and boys? Do we throw our cups up? No," said Costantino.
But wait -- there's more.
As we were packing up to leave, one of the teachers shook the cup and some water spilled out onto the side.
We took the lid off and checked the seal. We think the wow cup may have been damaged in testing, noticing a little gap, not in the sipping seal, but on the side where the lid screws into place.
Then the lid was taken off as the teachers checked the seal, worried they damaged it with dropping it. They then found a little gap.
"It looks on the one side there's a little gap now, so I don't think it's worth it," said Constantino.
Part of the claim says that it's virtually indestructible and this is what we did here today.
"This is a normal day at preschool," said Costantino.
So the wow cup is a fun new way to sip with no spills. Does it really do that?
Not so wow as it was given a thumbs down.
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