The spoonless and cheerless cuppa (Or: Spare us the soiled hankies of the anorak’s wet dreams)
I have nothing against decadence – or frivolity. In fact, frivolity might be the only redeeming quality human beings have. Most of our brain is much too busy inventing (and then interpreting) our Gods and creating more and more ways and weapons to make all of our lives, to quote Hobbes, ‘poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’ So, frivolity is much to be preferred to the human mind’s default setting, which is evil- or high-minded destructiveness.
However, while decadence and playfulness should be nurtured & applauded in principle, there are enough instances of both that are less pleasing. When it comes to the wet dreams of anoraks, be they twitchers, trainspotters or Dungeon & Dragons types, one always hopes these fantasies stay private and each solied hanky be discreetly dealt with and not held up and paraded in public:
The teaspoon could become a thing of the past after the invention of a mug that can stir liquid by itself. All a drinker has to do to work the clever cup is gently swirl it. This sets in motion a ceramic ball positioned at the bottom of the mug that stirs the contents.
The device was invented by two French designers, who recently displayed it at the London Design Festival.
Florian Dussopt, 23, said: “The cup aims at introducing a new way of drinking tea or another warm drink without using a spoon.
“The ball is put into a slightly protruding base to keep it in place when stirring and drinking. Users gently move the cup, like you would when swirling a glass of cognac, and the action pushes the ball around. The ceramic ball mixes all various sugars and milk at the same time, thus eliminating the need for a spoon.
“When you drink it the ball is blocked by the gravity in the recess of the glass. This eliminates the need for a spoon. Ceramic is a material that is hygienic and beautiful at the same time. The combination of glass and ceramic is aesthetically appealing in its formal interpretation of the traditional cup and saucer.”
Mr Dussopt said they were hoping to introduce the cup, called Ceramic For Mix into bars and restaurants. He added: “The aim is not to kill the spoon, but to suggest an alternative for a special occasion.”
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