Not really thermally good but... it's a nice looking mug
May 11, 2014 3:28 PM Subscribe
My life changed when I discovered that they made mug warmers. I know, it seems obvious - of course people would want such a thing. But I had never imagined that other people would be as stupid as me, and would also want hot things to stay hot for an unnaturally long time.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:12 PM on May 11, 2014
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:12 PM on May 11, 2014
"This is a fancy mug for assholes. But it has a plastic handle."
I like you, guy who reviews mugs. We could totally hang out.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:15 PM on May 11, 2014 [9 favorites]
I like you, guy who reviews mugs. We could totally hang out.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:15 PM on May 11, 2014 [9 favorites]
I'm not quite sure what his selection criteria are for good mugs. Sounds like a good mug is big, has cats or plants, and/or sentimental value.
This was absurdly enjoyable to watch.
posted by bookdragoness at 4:52 PM on May 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
This was absurdly enjoyable to watch.
posted by bookdragoness at 4:52 PM on May 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
Why exactly did I enjoy that?
posted by cirhosis at 4:54 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by cirhosis at 4:54 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
The reveal that he lives in his parents' basement came as an unpleasant surprise, but then I thought this guy is reviewing his mug collection where else would he live?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:59 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:59 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
I kind of got the vibe that his parents had died, actually, Mr. Encyclopedia. That would be why he's reviewing his parents' mugs to throw away, and he does say "This was my mom's," and so on.
That said, what the fuck
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:05 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
That said, what the fuck
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:05 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Living in one's parents' basement is possibly the best/only choice for a large chunk of the 20-30 year old crowd in the age of declining/slowing/halted economic growth, peak oil, etc. Especially in Vancouver. Let's face it, it's a bit decadent to imagine that every child in a family can/should own an entire new house or apartment.
posted by Verg at 5:11 PM on May 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by Verg at 5:11 PM on May 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
Now that he has that cabinet emptied out, is he going to clean it?
posted by Dip Flash at 5:12 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Dip Flash at 5:12 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
CHALICE!
posted by biscotti at 5:15 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by biscotti at 5:15 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
His cat has him well trained (5:58). He even exchanges hellos with his cat.
posted by eye of newt at 5:22 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by eye of newt at 5:22 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
Another mug!
posted by anothermug at 6:07 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by anothermug at 6:07 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well that was excrutiating. Reminded me of that "tutorials" guy.
posted by bleep at 6:09 PM on May 11, 2014
posted by bleep at 6:09 PM on May 11, 2014
Jeepers.
posted by Sara C. at 6:41 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Sara C. at 6:41 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well that was excrutiating.
You strike me as a 'mug half empty' person.
posted by Atom Eyes at 6:58 PM on May 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
You strike me as a 'mug half empty' person.
posted by Atom Eyes at 6:58 PM on May 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
i might have to do this
posted by rap and country at 7:16 PM on May 11, 2014
posted by rap and country at 7:16 PM on May 11, 2014
I liked him. By the end I was thinking, "I should show you my whale mug and this little china mug with orange poppies on it."
posted by Anitanola at 7:19 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Anitanola at 7:19 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
"This one's a Christmas mug. It's got stars on it. It might not be a Christmas mug, it might just be...star-related."
Amazing.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:22 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
Amazing.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:22 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
here's a review of my mugs: Fiestaware: yellow, sunflower, tangerine, sea mist green, turquoise, peacock. the end.
posted by vespabelle at 7:24 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by vespabelle at 7:24 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have a smallish Mr Grumpy mug for tea, a larger sort of grey mug for coffee, and a thermal mug thing that looks like a camera lens which is also for tea, but on-the-go tea. This is just at my desk at work, I can tell you all about all my other mugs when I get home.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:35 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:35 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
I have a mug that changes color depending upon what is in it.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:40 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:40 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
There is something super disorienting about watching a video taken from the viewpoint at eye level of someone who had much bigger hands than I do and is taller than I am. It's like: I'm looking down at my hand on the mug and OH MY GOD my hand is HUGE!
Granted that's not the only weird thing.
posted by theredpen at 7:41 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Granted that's not the only weird thing.
posted by theredpen at 7:41 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I have four mugs:
White, largish, bought on sale from Bed Bath & Beyond (I'm pretty sure it was once part of a set that got separated). This is pretty much the platonic ideal of everything a mug should be. Holds lots of warm caffeinated liquid. No stupid designs on it. Good handle.
Zabar's logo mug, which is odd because I bought it at a thrift store in Los Angeles. This one is also pretty perfect, as such things go. It's one of those bog-standard mugs, cylindrical, holds exactly 12 oz.
Robin's egg blue, Ikea, but not that Ikea mug, you know, the terrible top-heavy one with the completely unusable handle. The good kind of Ikea mug.
Travel mug in the shape of a video camera, YouTube swag, from my Quonsar this past year.
posted by Sara C. at 7:42 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
White, largish, bought on sale from Bed Bath & Beyond (I'm pretty sure it was once part of a set that got separated). This is pretty much the platonic ideal of everything a mug should be. Holds lots of warm caffeinated liquid. No stupid designs on it. Good handle.
Zabar's logo mug, which is odd because I bought it at a thrift store in Los Angeles. This one is also pretty perfect, as such things go. It's one of those bog-standard mugs, cylindrical, holds exactly 12 oz.
Robin's egg blue, Ikea, but not that Ikea mug, you know, the terrible top-heavy one with the completely unusable handle. The good kind of Ikea mug.
Travel mug in the shape of a video camera, YouTube swag, from my Quonsar this past year.
posted by Sara C. at 7:42 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
I love this and I can't in any way figure out why I love this. What just happened?
I have a mug that says EASTMAN KODAK TESTED CHEMICALS and I drink out of it to scare people.
My dad has a mug with Smokey the Bear and a bunch of trees on it, and the trees all disappear when you put hot water in. It's the most depressing mug ever and I want it. It's been through the dishwasher so many times that the forest is now mostly burned down all of the time which seems like an appropriate metaphor for something.
posted by pemberkins at 7:44 PM on May 11, 2014 [10 favorites]
I have a mug that says EASTMAN KODAK TESTED CHEMICALS and I drink out of it to scare people.
My dad has a mug with Smokey the Bear and a bunch of trees on it, and the trees all disappear when you put hot water in. It's the most depressing mug ever and I want it. It's been through the dishwasher so many times that the forest is now mostly burned down all of the time which seems like an appropriate metaphor for something.
posted by pemberkins at 7:44 PM on May 11, 2014 [10 favorites]
I have a much with a Sasquatch on it and the text GONE SQUATCHIN'. A friend of mine sent it to me one week when I was feeling depressed. It's one of my favorites. I might buy her one of those "Bigfoot the Bashful Yeti" tree statues from SkyMall for her wedding because I think our mutual love of SkyMall is what inspired her to buy me the mug.
posted by dismas at 7:59 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by dismas at 7:59 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
The fact his parents might be dead hadn't occurred to me, though I didn't get that impression from his dialogue. I guess I'm old school/blessed to have been able to strike out on my own as soon as I could, despite having a perfectly comfortable basement available to me.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 8:06 PM on May 11, 2014
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 8:06 PM on May 11, 2014
There is a place near me that buys up misprints and overruns for pennies on the dollar and sells them cheap. The mug selection is AMAZING. Every company in America gives employees mugs at some point, and you can get mugs from places that went out of business, or that say "CNN - Cable News Netwolk" or extras from some high school prom two years ago or favors from weddings that apparently didn't go off. It's hypnotic, I could spend an hour just browsing the mugs there.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:13 PM on May 11, 2014 [12 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:13 PM on May 11, 2014 [12 favorites]
I'm pretty sure that he's a kid that lives with his Mom. Or in his Mom's basement. And yes, that is a Vancouver voice (well, an accent actually, but still a Western Canadian one).
I have a massive collection of mugs, but I only drink out of the very largest available.
posted by jrochest at 8:14 PM on May 11, 2014
I have a massive collection of mugs, but I only drink out of the very largest available.
posted by jrochest at 8:14 PM on May 11, 2014
I've got a presentation to give tomorrow, and I'm definitely going to watch this before giving it.
posted by Chutzler at 8:20 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Chutzler at 8:20 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
"This is a spy, and this isn't, but they're almost the same to some people, so... that's a problem."
posted by Chutzler at 8:21 PM on May 11, 2014
posted by Chutzler at 8:21 PM on May 11, 2014
I heard it as "this is my mom's mug," not "was," but there's no way I could stand to rewatch it.
When I moved recently I got rid of all the crappy mugs. Every mug that was the wrong shape, had a too small handle, or just sucked to use went into the donations box, and my kitchen is so much nicer now. There's an optimum surface area to volume ratio, as well as density and thickness of ceramic, plus an aesthetic and happy to use shape. Most mugs don't even come close.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:25 PM on May 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
When I moved recently I got rid of all the crappy mugs. Every mug that was the wrong shape, had a too small handle, or just sucked to use went into the donations box, and my kitchen is so much nicer now. There's an optimum surface area to volume ratio, as well as density and thickness of ceramic, plus an aesthetic and happy to use shape. Most mugs don't even come close.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:25 PM on May 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
Myself, I was relieved to learn that he lives in his parents' basement. I was afraid he'd killed his mom for her mugs. I admit that I've had this thought in the past.
posted by jimmythefish at 8:25 PM on May 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by jimmythefish at 8:25 PM on May 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
Wow, Dip Flash, and I thought I was weird for only liking to use white or pale-colored mugs for beverage visibility/identifiability reasons that sound stupid when typed out.
Good to know that probably everybody is just insanely specific about what kinds of mugs are acceptable.
posted by Sara C. at 8:28 PM on May 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
Good to know that probably everybody is just insanely specific about what kinds of mugs are acceptable.
posted by Sara C. at 8:28 PM on May 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
One thing that I learned about (the now) Mr. Motion when we were registering for wedding gifts is that he has very particular standards for mugs, and the vast majority of mugs manufactured today simply fail to measure up.
We didn't end up registering for mugs so he continues to endure with the substandard selection that I had amassed before our households merged. Thankfully it hasn't strained our marriage to much...yet.
posted by sparklemotion at 8:42 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
We didn't end up registering for mugs so he continues to endure with the substandard selection that I had amassed before our households merged. Thankfully it hasn't strained our marriage to much...yet.
posted by sparklemotion at 8:42 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
My go-to mug is a large one with Yakko, Wakko and Dot that I picked up in the late 90s. My backup mug is a Bugs mug, and after that any of a variety of Timmy's mugs.
The only mug that's come close to dethroning the Animaniacs mug was a Black Mesa mug that had been weathering beautifully- you'd think it was Gordon Freeman's- but got busted.
My mugs... let me show you them.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:12 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
The only mug that's come close to dethroning the Animaniacs mug was a Black Mesa mug that had been weathering beautifully- you'd think it was Gordon Freeman's- but got busted.
My mugs... let me show you them.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:12 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Three mug thoughts:
I used to work in a kitchenware shop in BC and had many happy flashbacks of mugs o the past watching that. Orca mug, everyone had those in 1989.
Ive been watching suits on Netflix and was inordinately pleased when Donna had my mug.
My work is on a uni campus and so many mugs get left behind at our restaurant ***so many mugs*** and lost and found refuses to take mugs so they just go through the washer then wait for a while until we start to use them or put out a freebie box... Seems like I should invite this guy to do a traveling mug road show to the island here and review the lost mugs!
posted by chapps at 9:18 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I used to work in a kitchenware shop in BC and had many happy flashbacks of mugs o the past watching that. Orca mug, everyone had those in 1989.
Ive been watching suits on Netflix and was inordinately pleased when Donna had my mug.
My work is on a uni campus and so many mugs get left behind at our restaurant ***so many mugs*** and lost and found refuses to take mugs so they just go through the washer then wait for a while until we start to use them or put out a freebie box... Seems like I should invite this guy to do a traveling mug road show to the island here and review the lost mugs!
posted by chapps at 9:18 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I have a massive collection of mugs, but I only drink out of the very largest available.
posted by jrochest at 8:14 PM on May 11 [+] [!]
Well, see, this is wrong. Most mugs are too large. That's why his little Union Jack mug is the best one.
Also, you don't have to be a girl to have a sister. Not sure if he's clear on that.
posted by HotToddy at 9:22 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by jrochest at 8:14 PM on May 11 [+] [!]
Well, see, this is wrong. Most mugs are too large. That's why his little Union Jack mug is the best one.
Also, you don't have to be a girl to have a sister. Not sure if he's clear on that.
posted by HotToddy at 9:22 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, you don't have to be a girl to have a sister. Not sure if he's clear on that.
He also said he didn't have a sister. He doesn't have a sister, and he's not a girl, so it's like one of those logic puzzle things. Am I my father's uncle if I'm also his dad? That sort of thing. Who could the sister be? The answer: he doesn't have a sister. It's just a mug that's in there.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:35 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
He also said he didn't have a sister. He doesn't have a sister, and he's not a girl, so it's like one of those logic puzzle things. Am I my father's uncle if I'm also his dad? That sort of thing. Who could the sister be? The answer: he doesn't have a sister. It's just a mug that's in there.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:35 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Bateman: New mug. What do you think?
McDermott: Whoa-ho. Very nice. Look at that.
Bateman: Picked it up from the potter's yesterday.
Van Patten: Good coloring.
Bateman: That's bone. And the lettering is something called Silian Rail.
Van Patten: It's very cool, Bateman, but that's nothing. Look at this.
Bryce: That is really nice.
Van Patten: Eggshell with Romalian type. What do you think?
Bateman: Nice.
Bryce: Jesus. That is really super. How'd a nitwit like you get so tasteful?
Bateman: I can't believe that Bryce prefers Van Patten's mug to mine.
Bryce: But wait. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Raised lettering, pale nimbus. White.
Bateman: Impressive. Very nice.
Van Patten: Hmm.
Bateman: Let's see Paul Allen's mug.
Bateman: Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh, my God. It even has a watermark.
posted by xedrik at 9:44 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
McDermott: Whoa-ho. Very nice. Look at that.
Bateman: Picked it up from the potter's yesterday.
Van Patten: Good coloring.
Bateman: That's bone. And the lettering is something called Silian Rail.
Van Patten: It's very cool, Bateman, but that's nothing. Look at this.
Bryce: That is really nice.
Van Patten: Eggshell with Romalian type. What do you think?
Bateman: Nice.
Bryce: Jesus. That is really super. How'd a nitwit like you get so tasteful?
Bateman: I can't believe that Bryce prefers Van Patten's mug to mine.
Bryce: But wait. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Raised lettering, pale nimbus. White.
Bateman: Impressive. Very nice.
Van Patten: Hmm.
Bateman: Let's see Paul Allen's mug.
Bateman: Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh, my God. It even has a watermark.
posted by xedrik at 9:44 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
Also, you don't have to be a girl to have a sister. Not sure if he's clear on that.
He was clear on that. He said he didn't have a sister, so it couldn't be his sister's mug.
Then he said he wasn't a girl (so he wasn't someone's sister) so it couldn't have been for him.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:45 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
He was clear on that. He said he didn't have a sister, so it couldn't be his sister's mug.
Then he said he wasn't a girl (so he wasn't someone's sister) so it couldn't have been for him.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:45 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I did some cursory internet research (looked at his youtube 'about' section), and it says that he is, "just a teen trying to get by in this crazy world." So it seems that he is, indeed, just a teen, trying to get by in this crazy world.
I found this ridiculously entertaining.
posted by schmopera at 9:46 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I found this ridiculously entertaining.
posted by schmopera at 9:46 PM on May 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, the mug says "Sisters are forever" which implies a mug from one sister to another.
I find the analysis of his life through mugs is interesting, so I'll transcribe appropriate quotes:
"I bought this for my Mom. It used to be my Mom's but now it's mine." Touch of sadness in his voice?
Then upstairs:
"These are my parent's mugs."
"This was my Mom's mug." (Definitely the word 'was', and his voice breaks when he says it).
"This mug's got cats on it. Good mug. Good mug for sure. Top mug."
"This is probably one of my Dad's lame mugs. Who knows." He'd mentioned several lame mugs.
So he's telling us a lot. He lives in a basement, likes cats, misses his Mom, has issues with his Dad, has a lot of mugs.
What do your mugs say about you?
posted by eye of newt at 9:47 PM on May 11, 2014 [8 favorites]
I find the analysis of his life through mugs is interesting, so I'll transcribe appropriate quotes:
"I bought this for my Mom. It used to be my Mom's but now it's mine." Touch of sadness in his voice?
Then upstairs:
"These are my parent's mugs."
"This was my Mom's mug." (Definitely the word 'was', and his voice breaks when he says it).
"This mug's got cats on it. Good mug. Good mug for sure. Top mug."
"This is probably one of my Dad's lame mugs. Who knows." He'd mentioned several lame mugs.
So he's telling us a lot. He lives in a basement, likes cats, misses his Mom, has issues with his Dad, has a lot of mugs.
What do your mugs say about you?
posted by eye of newt at 9:47 PM on May 11, 2014 [8 favorites]
That I am Mr Grumpy.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:55 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:55 PM on May 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
- One of my favorite mugs comes from the UBC Museum of Anthropology.
- I also have a mug that used to be my Mother's and now is mine.
- His Dad's "lame mug" is a partial image of the Phaistos Disk.
- I agree that that "Expo 86 Vancouver" mug is a good mug.
- I would like to get his opinion on my CN Tower souvenir cocktail glass (shaped like the CN Tower and bought by me in Toronto) and 1962 Seattle World's Fair highball glass (bought in an antique shop, in Seattle).
What I'm saying is that I think this guy and I could hang out okay. I might also enjoy meeting his Dad. Don't know that I would have much to talk about with Kathy.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:05 PM on May 11, 2014
- I also have a mug that used to be my Mother's and now is mine.
- His Dad's "lame mug" is a partial image of the Phaistos Disk.
- I agree that that "Expo 86 Vancouver" mug is a good mug.
- I would like to get his opinion on my CN Tower souvenir cocktail glass (shaped like the CN Tower and bought by me in Toronto) and 1962 Seattle World's Fair highball glass (bought in an antique shop, in Seattle).
What I'm saying is that I think this guy and I could hang out okay. I might also enjoy meeting his Dad. Don't know that I would have much to talk about with Kathy.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:05 PM on May 11, 2014
In my kitchen cupboard is a glass mug, never used, which says "Falcons 1985" or something similar. Given out on senior trip in high school, maybe?
This reminds me that in a box in my closet is a pencil, given out as a token holiday gift, which has never been sharpened. It says "Merry Christmas from Mrs. Kramer". Mrs. Kramer was my third grade teacher. I am 47 years old.
These aren't really treasures, as such, I don't pine for my high school or even remember Mrs. Kramer, but I've always done very poorly when confronted with such artifacts: Is it more honorable to use (and eventually use up) the given item, or to tuck it away? I feel like the former is a better way to approach these things, but clearly live the latter. A puzzle.
posted by maxwelton at 11:12 PM on May 11, 2014 [7 favorites]
This reminds me that in a box in my closet is a pencil, given out as a token holiday gift, which has never been sharpened. It says "Merry Christmas from Mrs. Kramer". Mrs. Kramer was my third grade teacher. I am 47 years old.
These aren't really treasures, as such, I don't pine for my high school or even remember Mrs. Kramer, but I've always done very poorly when confronted with such artifacts: Is it more honorable to use (and eventually use up) the given item, or to tuck it away? I feel like the former is a better way to approach these things, but clearly live the latter. A puzzle.
posted by maxwelton at 11:12 PM on May 11, 2014 [7 favorites]
I'm pretty sure that's the first floor of a Vancouver Special, because apart from the colors of the countertops that is eerily similar to the cupboard and sink layout of where I am now in East Vancouver.
I found this oddly compelling and poignant. Good job, mug guy.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:59 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
I found this oddly compelling and poignant. Good job, mug guy.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:59 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have a mug that changes color depending upon what is in it.
I had a mug that I thought did that, but it turned out just to be transparent.
posted by aubilenon at 12:46 AM on May 12, 2014 [17 favorites]
I had a mug that I thought did that, but it turned out just to be transparent.
posted by aubilenon at 12:46 AM on May 12, 2014 [17 favorites]
and Tostitos!
posted by sfts2 at 1:36 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by sfts2 at 1:36 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
It was a surprisingly long time before I went... Hang on, what am I doing watching this?
posted by jacanj at 1:42 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by jacanj at 1:42 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
My husband is super fussy about mugs. There are so many requirements to do with shape and heft and handle size and total volume... I can't keep them all straight. I only require that they not be black inside because I might accidentally drink a spider. (This has happened.)
There's this famous linguistics experiment involving mugs, that has sometimes been extended to include jugs and cups as well. One year I wanted to mention it in class, and at home the night before I google imaged "jugs cups mugs" and one of the first results was the image from the link above, so I didn't save it, but just decided to repeat the google image search live in class.
That was when I first learned about google giving you different results on different computers. Also, safe search wasn't on. I got images of a totally different set of "cup (sizes)" and "jugs" than I was expecting. In front of 200 first year students.
posted by lollusc at 2:01 AM on May 12, 2014 [6 favorites]
There's this famous linguistics experiment involving mugs, that has sometimes been extended to include jugs and cups as well. One year I wanted to mention it in class, and at home the night before I google imaged "jugs cups mugs" and one of the first results was the image from the link above, so I didn't save it, but just decided to repeat the google image search live in class.
That was when I first learned about google giving you different results on different computers. Also, safe search wasn't on. I got images of a totally different set of "cup (sizes)" and "jugs" than I was expecting. In front of 200 first year students.
posted by lollusc at 2:01 AM on May 12, 2014 [6 favorites]
I got rid of my mug collection - approx. 30 mugs - due to cupboard space issues a few years ago. This video makes me want to start another one. Mugs are crazy awesome.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:48 AM on May 12, 2014
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:48 AM on May 12, 2014
An artist friend of mine did a series where she collected photo examples of local graffiti, then put them on plain white bone china mugs. This is why my favourite mug has a rough line drawing of the side view of a gentleman taking a lady from behind while she is bent over, with the accompanying words "Me and you, harder."
posted by biffa at 3:06 AM on May 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by biffa at 3:06 AM on May 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
Back in ceramics class in college, the head of the department constantly stressed that, when creating something like a mug, something meant to be held in the hands, it was important to create a surface that entertained the hands, be it by shape or surface texture or modeling. A perfectly smooth, round surface was a failure in his eyes.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
These days I keep most of my inordinately large mug collection in the attic, and try to rotate a few into active duty for a few months at a time. (Except for this one, which stays out all the time because it radiates much-needed slack.) I've been pretty good about not accumulating any new ones over the last few years, too. But when I had them all in a kitchen cupboard, the morning mug selection was a careful process that involved an inner monologue pretty much just like this.
posted by usonian at 5:59 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by usonian at 5:59 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
My wife drinks neither coffee nor tea, while I enjoy both; she rejects the very principle of keeping more than a couple of mugs.
The top shelf of one kitchen cupboard is like my own Thermopylae, with a small group of retreating, embattled hold-outs -- many weak or injured -- doing their best to avoid the extinction of their entire people. I also hide some desperate survivors at work.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:04 AM on May 12, 2014 [4 favorites]
The top shelf of one kitchen cupboard is like my own Thermopylae, with a small group of retreating, embattled hold-outs -- many weak or injured -- doing their best to avoid the extinction of their entire people. I also hide some desperate survivors at work.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:04 AM on May 12, 2014 [4 favorites]
Dip Flash: Most mugs don't even come close.
Agreed - and I find this kind of weird. Are we the most advanced civilization in the history of this planet, or what?
posted by sneebler at 6:07 AM on May 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
Agreed - and I find this kind of weird. Are we the most advanced civilization in the history of this planet, or what?
posted by sneebler at 6:07 AM on May 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
Are we the most advanced civilization in the history of this planet, or what?
I might be exposing more about myself than I should by saying this, but every time I'm at a museum that has ancient pottery on display, I check out the mugs. The Vikings had some great mugs, but the best I've seen were some really fantastic ones at a tiny museum in the Southwest somewhere, with I think it was mostly Anasazi ceramics on display. A couple of their mugs were absolutely perfect and I had momentary visions of overpowering the guards, smashing the glass, and driving off with the World's Best Mug, hoping to stay free just long enough to drink the most perfect cup of coffee before the manhunt ended.
If our mug production can't even come close to people making pottery in cliff dwellings thousands of years ago, we are hopeless as a civilization.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:20 AM on May 12, 2014 [8 favorites]
I might be exposing more about myself than I should by saying this, but every time I'm at a museum that has ancient pottery on display, I check out the mugs. The Vikings had some great mugs, but the best I've seen were some really fantastic ones at a tiny museum in the Southwest somewhere, with I think it was mostly Anasazi ceramics on display. A couple of their mugs were absolutely perfect and I had momentary visions of overpowering the guards, smashing the glass, and driving off with the World's Best Mug, hoping to stay free just long enough to drink the most perfect cup of coffee before the manhunt ended.
If our mug production can't even come close to people making pottery in cliff dwellings thousands of years ago, we are hopeless as a civilization.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:20 AM on May 12, 2014 [8 favorites]
Pemberkins, you can get another of the mugs
here
posted by PinkMoose at 6:24 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
here
posted by PinkMoose at 6:24 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is the only mug I really use. The potter gave it to me for free for coming into his shop on his birthday (I also bought my mom a really nice bowl.) Probably classifiable as "lame" but I like it - holds a lot of tea or two k-cups worth of coffee, and it's clearly handmade.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:29 AM on May 12, 2014
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:29 AM on May 12, 2014
Well, the only mug I have per se is a Royal Doulton Toby mug of Field Marshal Montgomery (276 of 2500) I inherited when my maternal grandmother passed away.
I suspect it was because no one else wanted it. Other than that, I have some au lait mugs I use more for soup.
posted by Samizdata at 6:49 AM on May 12, 2014
I suspect it was because no one else wanted it. Other than that, I have some au lait mugs I use more for soup.
posted by Samizdata at 6:49 AM on May 12, 2014
My wife drinks neither coffee nor tea, while I enjoy both; she rejects the very principle of keeping more than a couple of mugs.
Mugs can also hold wine, and liquor. FYI.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:19 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
Mugs can also hold wine, and liquor. FYI.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:19 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
We got some really nice hand-thrown pottery mugs for our wedding from a local-to-his-hometown potter. They cannot be dishwashed, are sincerely too nice to use, and also don't fit our mug-use patterns. I dislike handwashing and use a travel mug exclusively; my husband likes our matching Corelle set.
Sentimental mugs have to get a new job, I guess. What do you do with mugs that are too nice/finicky to use but too sentimental to pass on?
posted by bookdragoness at 7:22 AM on May 12, 2014
Sentimental mugs have to get a new job, I guess. What do you do with mugs that are too nice/finicky to use but too sentimental to pass on?
posted by bookdragoness at 7:22 AM on May 12, 2014
My go-to mug was a gift from the president of Bahir Dar university in Ethiopia. He gave it to a few of us who helped run a math camp for secondary students, saying it was the highest honor given by the university, one of about two dozen things that really impressed me at Bahir Dar.
posted by kaibutsu at 7:26 AM on May 12, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by kaibutsu at 7:26 AM on May 12, 2014 [4 favorites]
Also, upon looking for a cereal receptacle, I noticed two demitasses. Do they count?
posted by Samizdata at 7:26 AM on May 12, 2014
posted by Samizdata at 7:26 AM on May 12, 2014
What do you do with mugs that are too nice/finicky to use but too sentimental to pass on?
You seem young. Older people know that sentimental mugs are a curse, a precursor to other hoarding tendencies. Regift them to Goodwill with all blessings and sentimental wishes for their future.
posted by surplus at 7:27 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
You seem young. Older people know that sentimental mugs are a curse, a precursor to other hoarding tendencies. Regift them to Goodwill with all blessings and sentimental wishes for their future.
posted by surplus at 7:27 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
> What do you do with mugs that are too nice/finicky to use but too sentimental to pass on?
I've been using mine to temporarily hold lucky bamboo in water as I am waiting for them to root. Seems a bit nicer than the plastic cups I was using.
I've also used these types of mugs as pencil cups or to hold random things, such as change.
posted by needled at 7:31 AM on May 12, 2014
I've been using mine to temporarily hold lucky bamboo in water as I am waiting for them to root. Seems a bit nicer than the plastic cups I was using.
I've also used these types of mugs as pencil cups or to hold random things, such as change.
posted by needled at 7:31 AM on May 12, 2014
What do you do with mugs that are too nice/finicky to use but too sentimental to pass on?
Penis beaker.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:19 AM on May 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
Penis beaker.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:19 AM on May 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
I read that as "penis breaker" and worried for both mug and penis.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:23 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Dip Flash at 8:23 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
What do your mugs say about you?
That I steal them from every workplace I get the opportunity?
posted by MartinWisse at 9:11 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
That I steal them from every workplace I get the opportunity?
posted by MartinWisse at 9:11 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
Well, the only mug I have per se is a Royal Doulton Toby mug of Field Marshal Montgomery...
I would have bet $100 that this comment was by The Whelk.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:11 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I would have bet $100 that this comment was by The Whelk.
posted by benito.strauss at 10:11 AM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I have an awesome mug that a former tenant abandoned when he left an apartment in the building I managed 11 years ago. It was handmade in 1986 based on the signature on the bottom, it is very heavy with a wide base and is graduated so the opening at the top is slightly smaller than average. The thickness of the ceramic combined with the small surface area of the beverage means things stay warm longer, and the wide base means it's impossible to knock over. The handle has a pleasing little scroll at the bottom and fits the hand nicely. In short, I have no idea why the fuck someone would have abandoned this mug, because it's amazing. And I still marvel regularly at how much I love it.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:30 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:30 AM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
We actually have that Christmas Teddy bear mug, and the kitchen in my parents' house had exactly the same cabinets. It's a tiny snapshot of my Canada.
(Needs more giant Labatt's beer steins and commemorative Olympics glasses and McDonald's WWF (now WWE) glasses)
posted by biscotti at 10:33 AM on May 12, 2014
(Needs more giant Labatt's beer steins and commemorative Olympics glasses and McDonald's WWF (now WWE) glasses)
posted by biscotti at 10:33 AM on May 12, 2014
What do your mugs say about you?
My favorite mug is this mug I bought at Starbucks a few years ago. It's not the perfect mug, but it's better than all of my other mugs.
I think it says "linguist who thinks a regular sized mug doesn't hold enough coffee."
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:15 AM on May 12, 2014
My favorite mug is this mug I bought at Starbucks a few years ago. It's not the perfect mug, but it's better than all of my other mugs.
I think it says "linguist who thinks a regular sized mug doesn't hold enough coffee."
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:15 AM on May 12, 2014
I have a really embarrassingly large collection of mugs that I have absolutely no desire to count, but which are maybe 80% glass and 15% stainless steel.
I must have more than a dozen very thin walled glass mugs of 4 different styles made by Schott, and at least that many similarly thin and made by a number of mainly European manufacturers; I used to have quite a few elegant and much thicker Catamount Glass mugs, some from promotional campaigns for drugs and such, but they were my partner's favorites for her nocturnal, half-asleep sippings, and now, Ishmael-like, Bill Nye the Science Guy alone is left to tell their harrowing tale; I have an ungodly quantity of arcoroc and luminarc mugs which occasionally glitter menacingly at me when I mistakenly open the 7 gallon bucket where most of them have spent the last decade or so in glacial progress toward the Goodwill, empty, jumbled and discontent, no doubt envying their cupboard-dwelling cobalt brethren; I have many of the old white glass pyrex mugs with colored exteriors (I like the yellow, chartreuse, and red best); and even more of their old Fire King competitors, including a favored very heavy set made from glass visually indistinguishable from brown beer bottle glass--and many miscellaneous others.
But thermal efficiency does matter to me, and over the years I managed to find a few, an unhappily few, mugs with vacuum-insulated mirrored glass inserts, a dozen or so pink glass 6 ouncers from Standard (of Italy) and about as many of their 2 ounce demi-tasse sibs, three of each of which have survived. I also have several larger mugs cobbled together from stainless steel shells and 16oz. glass inserts which were originally part of wide-mouth thermoses made by Aladdin for a brief period in the 70s(?), but I've been afraid to use those very much because they were behind a wall of plastic in the original thermos, and I have a suspicion they are leaded glass. I called Aladdin up once in the mid-90s to ask about that, but cost-cutting MBAs had already lobotomized them even by then, and corporate memory was non-existent. A retired production manager I somehow located told me he didn't think so, but his mental status didn't exactly reassure me about their attitude toward toxic compounds back in the day.
Oh well, enough-- or too much.
posted by jamjam at 1:16 PM on May 12, 2014 [4 favorites]
I must have more than a dozen very thin walled glass mugs of 4 different styles made by Schott, and at least that many similarly thin and made by a number of mainly European manufacturers; I used to have quite a few elegant and much thicker Catamount Glass mugs, some from promotional campaigns for drugs and such, but they were my partner's favorites for her nocturnal, half-asleep sippings, and now, Ishmael-like, Bill Nye the Science Guy alone is left to tell their harrowing tale; I have an ungodly quantity of arcoroc and luminarc mugs which occasionally glitter menacingly at me when I mistakenly open the 7 gallon bucket where most of them have spent the last decade or so in glacial progress toward the Goodwill, empty, jumbled and discontent, no doubt envying their cupboard-dwelling cobalt brethren; I have many of the old white glass pyrex mugs with colored exteriors (I like the yellow, chartreuse, and red best); and even more of their old Fire King competitors, including a favored very heavy set made from glass visually indistinguishable from brown beer bottle glass--and many miscellaneous others.
But thermal efficiency does matter to me, and over the years I managed to find a few, an unhappily few, mugs with vacuum-insulated mirrored glass inserts, a dozen or so pink glass 6 ouncers from Standard (of Italy) and about as many of their 2 ounce demi-tasse sibs, three of each of which have survived. I also have several larger mugs cobbled together from stainless steel shells and 16oz. glass inserts which were originally part of wide-mouth thermoses made by Aladdin for a brief period in the 70s(?), but I've been afraid to use those very much because they were behind a wall of plastic in the original thermos, and I have a suspicion they are leaded glass. I called Aladdin up once in the mid-90s to ask about that, but cost-cutting MBAs had already lobotomized them even by then, and corporate memory was non-existent. A retired production manager I somehow located told me he didn't think so, but his mental status didn't exactly reassure me about their attitude toward toxic compounds back in the day.
Oh well, enough-- or too much.
posted by jamjam at 1:16 PM on May 12, 2014 [4 favorites]
benito.strauss: "Well, the only mug I have per se is a Royal Doulton Toby mug of Field Marshal Montgomery...
I would have bet $100 that this comment was by The Whelk."
Wow. I move in good company then. Thanks, family for apparently not wanting it...
posted by Samizdata at 1:38 PM on May 12, 2014
I would have bet $100 that this comment was by The Whelk."
Wow. I move in good company then. Thanks, family for apparently not wanting it...
posted by Samizdata at 1:38 PM on May 12, 2014
This was great.
We cleaned up our mug collection when we moved last time and just have a few left. I use a black NPR mug or my "J" Scrabble mug. I used to use a black Pepper's pizza 8th anniversary mug until the handle broke/got re-glued/broke. It had an 8-ball on it and their motto "A Sunny Place For Shady People". I loved that mug and apparently probably drank some spiders out of it.
My wife favors a green x-mas mug that says HO! HO! HO! in big block letters down the side and in each HO! is a silhouette of a stripper in a provocative pose. I have no idea why we have that one ... it ain't mine!
posted by freecellwizard at 1:44 PM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
We cleaned up our mug collection when we moved last time and just have a few left. I use a black NPR mug or my "J" Scrabble mug. I used to use a black Pepper's pizza 8th anniversary mug until the handle broke/got re-glued/broke. It had an 8-ball on it and their motto "A Sunny Place For Shady People". I loved that mug and apparently probably drank some spiders out of it.
My wife favors a green x-mas mug that says HO! HO! HO! in big block letters down the side and in each HO! is a silhouette of a stripper in a provocative pose. I have no idea why we have that one ... it ain't mine!
posted by freecellwizard at 1:44 PM on May 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
A good mug must hold at least 14 oz. Otherwise, it's just a cup.
posted by Sassenach at 2:38 PM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Sassenach at 2:38 PM on May 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by PinkMoose at 3:40 PM on May 11, 2014