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Engineering in Liquid Form
Nov. 26th, 2012 08:07 pmA few years ago, I was driving home after my weekly trip to the recycling center. A large Dunkin Donuts iced coffee sat in the cup holder by my right hip, still mostly full. I cleared a small rise leading to an exit ramp and had to brake sharply on the downhill side because there was a surprising line of cars backed up waiting to exit. The coffee cup popped straight up, turned 180 degrees in mid air, and fell, lid-down in the front passenger footwell.
The lid stayed on. A little coffee leaked out through the straw hole, but otherwise my car remained dry and not-coffee-scented.
It took me many months to realize why this was so flabbergasting, beyond the general sense of relief that somehow the worst failed to happen. The tight seal between the lid and the cup is a triumph of engineering. Dunkin has engineered the cup so that its servers (they don't use the word "barrista") can add ice, sweetner, milk, flavor syrups, and whatever else to the coffee within the cup, put on the lid, and shake the mixture until well-blended. To find such good work in a 3-cent plastic cup that is literally designed to be thrown away is a testament to the fact that the cost of good design is generally negligible. But it was still a wonder to see it in action.
The lid stayed on. A little coffee leaked out through the straw hole, but otherwise my car remained dry and not-coffee-scented.
It took me many months to realize why this was so flabbergasting, beyond the general sense of relief that somehow the worst failed to happen. The tight seal between the lid and the cup is a triumph of engineering. Dunkin has engineered the cup so that its servers (they don't use the word "barrista") can add ice, sweetner, milk, flavor syrups, and whatever else to the coffee within the cup, put on the lid, and shake the mixture until well-blended. To find such good work in a 3-cent plastic cup that is literally designed to be thrown away is a testament to the fact that the cost of good design is generally negligible. But it was still a wonder to see it in action.
