I wrote a column a few years back about Tupperware containers and my ongoing frustration in matching the lids with the bowls. It’s still maddening. I finally realized at least part of my match-game problem. I can’t find the appropriate Tupperware counterparts because our cupboards are filled with overpriced, insulated tumblers and their mismatched lids. Now, where did this insanity come from?
Well, you can blame it, at least partially, on Sir James Dewar, a Scottish scientist working in cryogenics who invented the “vacuum flask” in 1892 to keep a chemical placed in a container at a stable temperature. According to thermos.com, Dewar put one glass bottle in another larger glass bottle and evacuated the air between the two bottle walls. In doing so, he created a partial vacuum to keep the temperature of the contents stable. He hired some professional glass blowers to make a sturdier flask, and this led to the manufacturing of the “Dewar Flask” in 1898.
The glassblowers, Reinhold Burger and Albert Aschenbrenner, soon discovered that this vacuum technology could be used commercially to keep drinks cold or warm. Dewar never patented the vacuum flask. These two did, and the double wall insulated cup became known as “thermos” in 1904.
So, we can’t really blame the scientist. It’s those thieving glassblowers’ fault.
Enough history. I understand the fascination. I like my liquids cold, too. That’s why I use ice in an open cup. Then I can crunch the ice with my teeth, which I find keeps discussions with others short.
Aside from keeping liquids hot or cold longer, I appreciate the other benefits of these adult sippy cups, too. No cup sweating. No spills. And they fit somewhat easily into the cup holders in cars.
Believe me, I am all for having a handful of these cups around the house, but do we need one in our cupboard for every day of the month? The mass quantities we have are simply ridiculous, and good luck trying to find matching lids for these tumblers. It’s like that square-peg, round-hole game you played as a toddler. If I do find a matching lid, of course, it’s the one with the tab that never stays closed. So much for the no-spill benefit.
A few years back, I was convinced to have some of these insulated tumblers engraved with our company logo and given to staff. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Now we have 50 of these things filling the cupboards around the office, too — along with a bunch of lids that don’t match.
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707