In the opening minutes of the Rick And Morty episode “Something Ricked This Way Comes,” the cranky and typically pessimistic scientist Rick quickly wires together a tiny robot that can pass butter to him while eating breakfast. Upon completing this simple task, the robot asks what its purpose is, and Rick casually explains that it exists just to pass butter. “Oh my god,” the robot says, hanging its head as it contemplates the futility of its existence. Rick responds with little sympathy, muttering: “Yeah, welcome to the club, pal.”
It’s a great gag, but now a YouTube page called ESDEV has used a 3D printer to build a real-life version of the butter-passing robot, and its life is just as tragic as it was in the cartoon. It even has the same lines, although they’re definitely pre-recorded and not the endlessly tragic expressions of a robot realizing that the universe is pointlessly cruel. Thankfully, it’s still pretty funny.