In the office I drink water from a mug, but somehow it doesn't feel right. Plain water should be drank in a transparent glass. On the other hand I also drink tea in it, and I prefer tea on opaque mug. My God, the pressure of choice! Should I have a glass for the water or a mug for the tea? So, why not have both in one? A mug vertically divided in two would solve the problem. To drink water one turns the transparent side to himself/herself. When drinking tea, turns the opaque side.
-- PauloSargaco, Jan 21 2004

would [half] use this?
-- po, Jan 21 2004


Or make the surface react on the temperature of the drink. Warm = opaque, cool = transparant.
-- spekkie, Jan 21 2004


I'd only use this half the time. I drink a lot of water, but don't really like tea. But, I drink my water from a stainless steel travel mug so I don't have the same sensibilities as Paulo.
-- half, Jan 21 2004


I half knew you would say that, half!
-- po, Jan 21 2004


Wow, [spekkie], that's a whole new dimension for the thing. We could even study fluid dynamics on a mug with that characteristic. For instance, we could watch it become transparent in layers, according to the temperature distribution of the fluid in the cup. Nice brainstorming! :-)
-- PauloSargaco, Jan 21 2004


I identify with this, so bun from me.
-- silverstormer, Jan 21 2004


How about a transparent mug with an insertable liner?
-- phoenix, Jan 21 2004


// How about a transparent mug with an insertable liner? //

Not! That's too much hassle. If you choose that one you might as well have a glass and a mug. And it's not geeky enough.
-- PauloSargaco, Jan 21 2004


How do you keep the hot tea from pouring onto your face when you drink the water? And vice versa?
-- k_sra, Jan 21 2004


Look at what you've done to [k_sra] - red blisters all over her nose. Please do not try prototypes out on halfbakers.
-- Worldgineer, Jan 21 2004


I assume the top of this is stationary and only open on on side, [k_sra],.The bottom with the two different drink compartments is twisted round until the required liquid is at the open side. (I think)
-- squeak, Jan 21 2004


You know what they say when you assume ... ; )
-- k_sra, Jan 21 2004


I imagine you'd only want to occupy one compartment at any given time. The hot tea would warm the water.
-- Letsbuildafort, Jan 21 2004


oh now, you've spoilt it, Fort!
-- po, Jan 21 2004


Oh sorry, [po] ... solve it with a rotating lid ... like on tackle boxes ... keep the tea hot, and the water cool. And make sure no body puts pencil shavings in the tea ...
-- Letsbuildafort, Jan 21 2004


How does that solve the water heating issue?
-- k_sra, Jan 21 2004


"Could one designate that half & half be drunk from one half of the half-half mug (aka half-half) and half-caf half-decaf from the other half?", asks [half]. If so, would [half] claim that, when that half of the half-half contained half of it's total volume, that the half & half half of the half-half was half full of half & half or would [half] claim that the half & half half of the half-half was half empty?
-- half, Jan 21 2004


Actually, why not have two squirty nozzles set into your desk, one left one right, with a reservoir underneath each one for the beverages of your choice. They would fold flat when not in use. Activate by pressing a button in the floor with your foot and make sure to turn your head the right way AND open your mouth. Once released, the nozzles whip out of sight. It may take a little time to learn but then it would be great.

My stepson has a flask (B-T-B of course) with a pop-up lid which flips open when you press a button. I'm very jealous.
-- squeak, Jan 21 2004


halfie halfle half-half halfety half half. Ha! Very cute.
-- k_sra, Jan 21 2004


(warns [k] not to try [squeak]'s idea - you're just asking for a burned ear)
-- Worldgineer, Jan 21 2004


(thanks [World] for the warning.)
-- k_sra, Jan 21 2004


Wow - you certainly don't go half-way in you explainations, huh, [half]?
-- Letsbuildafort, Jan 21 2004


[k_sra], well, actually it seems that my idea was missunderstood (oh, no, I'm gonna loose those buns). I didn't mean that the mug would be divided in the sense there would be a physical barrier between the two zones. I meant that half of the mug would be opaque and the other half transparent. But in the middle it would be one single (happy) mug. It was my bad, I guess, the explanation should have been clearer.

In the back of my mind I actually had a glimpse that this confusion might happen.

But anyway, I'm much more fond of [spekkie]'s improvement suggestion than of my initial idea. Is there a possibility to create a joint-idea between the two of us?
-- PauloSargaco, Jan 22 2004


I have somewhere seen or heard of glasses with temperature sensitive paint/ink that disappears when a cold beverage is poured in to the glass. We have a promotional coffee mug at my home which, when filled with a hot liquid, has a patch of color that disappears thereby revealing a company logo beneath. The temperature sensitive approach exists already.

Now that you've clarified the idea, my oh-so-clever annotation is no longer relevant. :p

BTW - with your design, you'll see the opaque side of the vessel while you're actually drinking the water and when you're looking through the transparent side and through the water. Hope that doesn't spoil the water drinking experience for ya.

I know what you mean about drinking water from a mug. I used to have a ceramic coffee cup from which I drank water. It just didn't seem natural somehow. This insulated stainless steel thing with a lid doesn't bother me though. Go figure.

Don't worry about losing my vote though. I voted half croissant and half fishbone.
-- half, Jan 22 2004


Another approach to this would be a drinking vessel that uses liquid crystal technology. There are windows that turn from clear to opaque/translucent white in appearance using said technology.

Possibly the insertion of a removable mug handle into recessed lugs could activate the opaque mode. The handle could even contain a battery to supply the power to activate the liquid crystal (but, they probably work the other way: apply power to align the crystals for transparency mode).
-- half, Jan 22 2004


Great, great, [half]. All good ideas :-)

//BTW - with your design, you'll see the opaque side of the vessel while you're actually drinking the water and when you're looking through the transparent side and through the water. Hope that doesn't spoil the water drinking experience for ya. //

Hmm, you're right. Well, we could easily solve that by doing the other way around. This way we would be drinking water from the opaque side while actually seeing the transparent one, thus fooling ourselves into thinking we were drinking from a completely transparent vessel. It's all a mind game :-)
-- PauloSargaco, Jan 22 2004


//It's all a mind game//

Well, why didn't you just say so? Anyone care for a game of Mindopoly?
-- k_sra, Jan 22 2004


Ah, but then you'll see the opaque side when you set it down. You'll need an intelligent, automatic coaster that detects the contents of the glass and turns it right way 'round when you set it down and then reverse it when you reach for the glass.

Does Mindopoly require marbles? If so, I won't be able to join you.
-- half, Jan 22 2004


No dice, [k_sra]. I got outta the Mindopoly runabout long long ago ...
-- Letsbuildafort, Jan 22 2004


I'll play if someone will loan me a "get out of asylum free" card. I've used mine already.
-- MuddyBuddy, Feb 26 2004



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