The Useless Rick And Morty Invention You Can Buy In Real Life

From the first time we laid eyes on Rick's Butter Robot in "Something Ricked This Way Comes," it's been clear that the sentient machine isn't totally useless, but it's not essential to everyday life. It has a purpose — it passes butter. If you count the way that it drives home the pointlessness of life and the pain of self awareness through its immediate existential crisis, then boom — that's two purposes.

And now, thanks to science and ingenuity, you can enjoy its full range of unexplored potential at your own kitchen table, as a collaboration between Adult Swim and Digital Dream Labs is bringing the Butter Robot into the homes of fans around the world.

During a video unboxing, Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland described the limited series of Butter Robots as having "a tendency to malfunction in the most eerie and spectacular way," and all signs point to that being an understatement. The robot, created by the same team behind the Anki Cozmo machines, is programmed to pass butter. It's also, according to the promotional website, capable of parroting back phrases and adapting to better understand its environment. Plus, it's able "to become more 'self-aware' over time while choosing to 'rebel' against commands." Yes, it's an intelligent machine designed specifically to revolt against instructions. What could go wrong?

Speaking with Forbes, Digital Dream Labs CEO Dr. Jacob Hanchar described the way that the Butter Robot learns and reacts. "When someone asks for the butter, he will hear them with his microphone, use object recognition in the camera to find the long rectangle, then use his seven servos mini-motors to bend down, move and grab the butter dish," said Hanchar. "Remembering the direction and proximity of the voice that requested the butter, he will drag it to them or fling it, depending on his mood."

Robots with mood swings have generally made life more difficult for the denizens of pop culture universes, and the Butter Robot seems poised to continue that noble tradition in real life. "Using a random engine generator, there are going to be various actions he can take that aren't linear," Hanchar continued. "For example, if triggered by an angry face, he might become antagonistic and recite Sun Tzu's Art of War. [...] He might also tell someone what you said about them."

The Butter Robot is currently available for holiday pre-order, with shipments expected to begin in May 2021. The machine uprising, while currently unscheduled, is sure to follow shortly thereafter, and still won't be the darkest thing to come out of Rick and Morty.

If mid-2021 is too long to wait, here's some more good news: Etsy is positively brimming with plumbuses.