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How Lid Design Changes in 1967, '75 and '84 Led Us to Drink Coffee On-the-Go

A brief design history of the plastic coffee cup lid

By Rain Noe - January 2, 2020

in Object Culture

To be clear, I don't think plastic disposable coffee cup lids are a good idea. But as product designers, I think it's helpful to know the history of so ubiquitous an object, and the role that design played in popularizing on-the-go coffee. (It's weird to think that for decades, coffee was something that was only drank while sitting down, in-situ, from a ceramic cup.)

Big changes to the design of snap-on cup lids came in 1967, with the first pull tab; in 1975, with a pull-tab that could be folded back and locked into the lid; and most notably with the anti-splash Solo design of 1984, which also featured clearance for your schnozz.

In this short video, author A.J. Jacobs breaks down the history of the lid's design changes:

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You might be wondering how Jacobs came to be an expert on coffee lids. Well, he recently decided to write and research a book with an odd mission:

New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs decided to thank every single person involved in producing his morning cup of coffee. The resulting journey takes him across the globe, transforms his life, and reveals secrets about how gratitude can make us all happier, more generous, and more connected.

The book is called "Thanks a Thousand." Great concept!

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Phidias Leonida

4 years ago

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...here they are(see below).

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Phidias Leonida

4 years ago

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The challenges raised by the 'mundane' ephemera of our lives needs more attention. Thank you for this and to Anders for your note below. I have attached a snap shot of my own collection of lids.

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Anders H

4 years ago

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Love the story of the coffee lids, but a shout-out should surely go to Phil Patton and his article in I.D. Magazine in 1996, which first dissected the coffee lid as an object. That story was a complete eye-opener for me as an Industrial Design student. An extended version of the story can be found here: https://philpatton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/05/the-coffee-lids-story-updated.html

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