“Any sufficiently advanced technology,” Arthur C. Clarke once said, “is indistinguishable from magic.”
This seems to be the philosophy behind The Cauldron, a real-life Harry Potter pub coming to central London.
Matthew Cortland is a 28 year-old ex-teacher from New Jersey who wants to bring the Leaky Cauldron—the wizarding inn on Charing Cross—to life.
Well, sort of.
For obvious reasons—namely trademarks—Cortland can't actually outright say that the Cauldron will be based off of Harry Potter. There will be no butterbeer, for instance, and no references to boys who lived.
But through smart home technology, the Cauldron will allow visitors to use touch-sensitive magic wands to light fires, unlock doors, or even turn on beer taps. Candles will float in the air through the magic of magnetism.
The menu itself will consist of standard fantasy fare, as well as stuff mentioned in Harry Potter. That means steak and kidney pies, for example, or a pint of mead. Vegan and vegetarian options will be available.
Completing this is the pub's literary side. The pub will be designed to look like a fantasy novel in, but with books “quite literally be everywhere in the pub. While they visit, visitors can grab a book to read off one of our many bookshelves, or even plug into a listening station and enjoy an audiobook.”
The Kickstarter campaign for the Cauldron will be launching June 26, aiming for $500,000. Rewards include branded pint glasses, immortality in the form of a permanent scribble of the Cauldron's ceiling, or even a “moving wizard photo” (not Harry Potter-ish at all, ahem ahem) within the pub. Interested parties are encouraged to submit contributions, ideas, and translations to the Cauldron Wiki.
