Shortly after arriving at work today I took a walk over to the local coffee and bagel shop. I do not often drink coffee as it works like Ex-Lax in my body! I do enjoy a nice hot beverage on a cold morning though, so I purchased a cup of hot chocolate.
In case you are wondering, I did have the server put whipped cream on top before putting the travel cover on.
As I was walking back to work I looked at the cardboard wrap that most coffee cups now have on them. This one had a little bit of texture and: a patent number!
I had to look twice to be sure but there it was:
Patent #5425497
I guess you can patent anything these days?
This got me to thinking,
"What did we do before they patented the coffe cup wrap?"
I thought about it and remembered that, back in the old days, we used to use two cups at the same time. The second cup would provide some insulation for the beverage as well as for us. The inner chamber would slowly warm up but never enough to burn your fingers. This also kept the drink warmer for a longer period of time as its heat would not bleed off so quickly.
We also used insulated travel mugs. Yes, I still have them and use them when I prepare a hot drink before leaving for work.
Try as I might, the only thing similar to this patented invention that springs to my mind is the practice of using napkins as a buffer between your hand and the hot beverage. That was never a very good method, but it did work.
Have you encountered any strange patents of late?