No Iron Filings In My Tea Cup is a new type of cup that has a magnet built into its base.

The purpose of the base is to extract and retain any iron filings which may have been included with the tea, or coffee contents. (or even in the water itself)

After each use, the cup can be examined for evidence of iron filings and an even more powerful magnet used to retrieve them.
-- xenzag, Jul 11 2022

For [xenzag] https://www.magnets...agnetic-separation/
Sounds like you need to pour all your food through a magnetic separator... [neutrinos_shadow, Jul 11 2022]

How many iron filings did you drink today? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d5JMMlB_lWE
[xenzag, Jul 12 2022]

Maybe have the magnetic part arranged in a pretty pattern so when you look in horror at how many iron filings were in your tea they'll form a little sculpture so you can at least say "Oh, that's pretty though." Paisley maybe? [+]
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 11 2022


Is this a problem that you actually have, or are you trying to preemptively solve it just in case it happens?
-- Loris, Jul 11 2022


I wish to complain, my tea has brass filings in the bottom and this device doesn't adequately deal with them.
-- pocmloc, Jul 11 2022


[+]
-- Voice, Jul 11 2022


//Is this a problem// You can never be too carefull when it comes to the gradual accumulation of iron filings via repeated tea consumption.
-- xenzag, Jul 11 2022


Wouldn't your elf utilize the incoming iron as, you know, iron?
-- whatrock, Jul 11 2022


What about a magnetic bowl to remove the iron filings from breakfast cereal? Surely these also constitute a threat to your iron-free diet?
-- Loris, Jul 11 2022


Why not indeed.
-- xenzag, Jul 11 2022


When we tell our fortune by the patterns of iron filings in the bottom of the cup, this may distort the data, leading to groundless premonitions of seething hedgehogs.
-- pertinax, Jul 11 2022


But what are you going to do about the Potassium-40 in bananas?
-- RayfordSteele, Jul 11 2022


Oh the irony.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 12 2022


Did you know that there's a highly prized style of iron teapot in Japan which is un-enamelled inside?
The iron dissolved during brewing is said to give the tea an improved flavour.

Also, did you know that lucky iron fishes are put into cooking- pots in Cambodia, to prevent iron deficiency?

Also, did you know that the US military temporarily tins some of its plastic-pouch rations to add sufficient iron to the soldier's diet?
-- Loris, Jul 12 2022


I can see this finding a niche but surprisingly large market among construction and factory workers. Given the large number of steel office desks in such worksites, I can see it pulling double duty as a spill preventer. [+], would that I had but one more bun to give.
-- 21 Quest, Jul 13 2022


//The iron dissolved during brewing// Dissolved iron is not the problem. Iron filings are undissolved particles.
-- xenzag, Jul 13 2022


Forgive my display of ignorance, but isn't a significant portion of even undissolved iron bioavailable through the magic of stomach acid? Iron chloride, per my two minute Google degree in biochemistry.
-- Voice, Jul 13 2022


re: xenzag's yt! vid: Nasty. Thank you.

Fun experiment: 1. Add warm water to an bowl containing CornFlakes™ or similar 'fortified' cereal. 2.Wait 3-5 minutes* until the flakes are mushy. 3. Stir the mess with a bar magnet. 4. Remove the magnet and allow it to dry. 5. Be amazed by the number of iron filings you find on the magnet. This is your cereal's 'added iron'. Not even kidding.
-- Sgt Teacup, Jul 13 2022


Are you saying that if I stirred some iron fiings into a cup of water, you would drink it all? This is what happens with cups of tea. (until now with my new magnet equipped cup)
-- xenzag, Jul 13 2022


I would, if there weren't a lot. Until I learn otherwise I think it's usable iron, and not enough to cause iron poisoning.
-- Voice, Jul 13 2022


//This is what happens with cups of tea.//
Your tea actually comes with an iron supplement? I would look for a new supplier. If it has iron who knows what else it's contaminated with. And that ferromagnetic material may not just be iron. It could contain other metals less amiable to human (forgive me for assuming your species) life.
-- Voice, Jul 13 2022


Won't the iron particles combine in your stomach to form into solid nuggets that grow like pearls?
-- xenzag, Jul 13 2022


//Won't the iron particles combine in your stomach to form into solid nuggets that grow like pearls?//

Maybe, I suppose - if you're a clam.
Is that the intended market?

Recently, I was wondering whether iron-fortified cereal would pose a risk in an MRI machine. Googling suggested no, and I can tell you that an appointment letter for such a scan makes no mention of avoiding breakfast.
-- Loris, Jul 13 2022


Don't avoid breakfast. It doesn't mean you any harm. It just wants to talk. Why are you looking at it like that?
-- pertinax, Jul 13 2022


I have breakfast for every meal! And sometimes in between meal times as well!
-- pocmloc, Jul 13 2022



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