Beer fridge only opens for people who can sing Canadian National Anthem correctly

After a 17,000-kilometre jaunt through Europe and Indonesia, the Molson Canadian Beer Fridge returned to its home and native land 2014 for a new Canada Day campaign.

But where a Canadian passport was required to open the previous iteration of the fridge, this new Molson Canadian-stocked fridge remains locked until someone sings a passable rendition of “O Canada.”

behind the scenes: inside the Anthem fridge

We partnered with our friends at StackLab and Paus & Grün to fabricate this version of the fridge along with Eightlines to bring it to life with a smattering of technology.

An Arduino microprocessor was used to track the microphone’s input, control the responsive LED ring and the relay for the electromagnet lock. A RaspberryPi microcomputer running OpenFrameworks handles interpreting the audio cadence of the melody being sung. Regardless of pitch, if a close-enough approximation of the anthem was sung, the door would open. Failing that, singers would be unceremoniously buzzed-out.