I’m posted before about how wonderful McDonald’s Premium Roast coffee tastes. I’ve also expressed how that seems to go against everything that’s right in the universe. I mean, really good coffee? From McDonald’s??!?!?!. But alas, it’s true.
That being said, while they may understand how to brew good coffee, they apparently haven’t figured out physics. Or perhaps they haven’t figured out Styrofoam. Let me explain.
In the photo above, you’ll see that McDonald’s has taken a regular Styrofoam cup, and covered it with paper. Perhaps so no one realizes they are still using Styrofoam, since it’s so environmentally taboo? Who knows. Anyway, you’ll see the mysterious coffee that happens to be under the paper. Anyone who drinks McDonald’s coffee very often has had a cup drip from the bottom. It’s very frustrating because you don’t expect a drip from the bottom, and since it’s dripping from underneath the paper sheath — there is no way to stop the drip. It stains your pants, your shirt, your desk, your paperwork, etc.
How does the coffee get there you might ask? Well, the answer is physics. Look at the following photo:
What starts as a small imperfection in the top of the Styrofoam cup, turns into a physics dynamo, which pumps coffee directly from under the lid onto your pants. If the paper weren’t there, you’d get an occasional drip, which your thumb would catch, at which point you’d simply adjust the lid so it no longer leaks. Thanks to the paper coating, however, the drip is quietly and sinisterly absorbed into the paper. It then wicks all the way down the cup, and begins randomly dripping from around the entire bottom of the cup.
The first few months of this were maddening. I thought I just kept getting leaky cups. It turns out it was much more complex. So my only suggestion to fellow McDonald’s coffee drinkers? Drink fast. Wicking is relatively slow. And the most frustrating part? Throw the cup away after you’re finished. I tended to use my McDonald’s cup all day, to save on disposables. If you keep using the flawed design, the dripping gets worse and worse.
So there you have it, your lunchtime physics lesson. 🙂
I know, it’s hard to believe, but this fine piece of 12 year old geek was single. Mind you, he had a TI-99/4A computer, a black and white television, and a laminated library card — but no woman could hold him down. In fact, it was so obvious to them, that none tried. 😀
July should be the last month The Powers Family is displaced. This is something I find profoundly awesome. My birthday is on the 19th, and I would be quite happy for my belated birthday present to be a home. Also, school is out. ALSO, I’m half done with the super sekrit project I’ve been working on. (It’s a two part endeavor, so half done is significant, it means one part is completely done!) What does that all mean for you? Well, it means you will hopefully be hearing more from me. You will be seeing more of me in odd videos I’ll likely shoot and post. You’ll be reading more about me here. Basically, it will be as if my life were returning to normal, because as abnormal as normal is, I rather fancy it. 🙂
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that today I went fishing. It was the first time in about a decade that I’ve gone, and while I didn’t even get the slightest hint of a nibble, it was awesome!
It’s Monday. If it’s not Monday when you read this, chances are it’s one of Monday’s six miserable siblings. Like my pasta-addicted buddy Garfield, I hate Monday. So here’s my tip to make Monday, or any other day, full of awesome. (Or at least less full of suck…)