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Beware: The Contents of this cup are very cold or very hot. good luck!

9/6/2018

4 Comments

 
PictureJulian Abich, Ph.D., Senior Human Factors Engineer
Can things be designed so well that they actually lead to design flaws or hindered performance? I recently received a thermal cup as a gift and I was excited because my other one was leaking and it didn't do the best job at keeping the heat inside when there were hot contents in the cup (and not burning my hand). So when I got this new one, I wasn't calibrated to it's functionality. The next morning at work, I started my normal routine by heating up some water and pouring it into my cup to make green tea. Came back to my desk and let it sit for about 30 mins, thinking this would be long enough to let it cool down a bit. WRONG! The cup was cold to the touch, but the contents were like lava in my mouth. I left my drink for 2 hours, and when I come back after lunch I went to take a sip and bam! Still hot! Not lava hot, but hot enough to burn. So what I've concluded is that in order to enjoy my hot beverage at a reasonable consumable temperature it must be made at a minimum of 4-5 hours prior to consumption. Does anyone else see this as a problem? 

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​Now think of the opposite. It works great for cold contents as well. After spending hours outside on a hot day, an ice cold beverage is nothing short of pure bliss. The issue is this cup was not just designed for cold, but hot as well (although we all know the problem with hot contents). So does this mean I always have to plan hours in advance for when I would like to have a hot (not super-hot) beverage? Do I have to temperature control the contents prior to pouring them in the cup so I have a better idea of the consistent temperature in the cup shortly thereafter? Do I need to quickly get caught up with the cooling rate of various types of liquids to better gauge the window period of safe and enjoyable consumption? And do you think the designers of this cup thought that this would be something that their consumers should have been made aware of? ***Beware: the contents of this cup are probably very cold or very hot. Good luck!***

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I started to think about other designs that are "too good" that have led to expensive mistakes, cognitive deficits, and even injury (and potential insults from onlookers). These couple things came to mind.

​Luxury Vehicles. When I was in high school, I learned how to drive. The one thing all high school teenagers want is a car. I didn’t have one at first, so I borrowed my parents' cars (after a little begging). My parents were very successful, so I was lucky because when I borrowed their cars, I was cruising in luxury. So what's the catch? If you have driven both an economical and luxury vehicle (not at the same time), besides all the interior differences, the biggest difference is in the performance and handling of the vehicle. Meaning, when you drive fast in a luxury vehicle, you don't really feel like you're driving fast. I think you can see where I am going with this. One day I was driving in the typical Florida rain and I didn't realize how fast I was going. Sure enough, I get pulled over. Officer, "Son, do you realize how fast you were going?" Teenage me, "Honestly sir, no, I don't." At the time I didn't have the human factors training I do now, but I don't think it would've helped my case by trying to explain that "it wasn't my fault that the car was designed so well it afforded me to drive fast, even in the rain…sir"

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Google. Yes, the almighty Google! What's wrong with Google you say? Well, you literally have an answer to almost any question (or at least someone's opinion about it). The problem is, why would you need to remember or learn how to do anything now since the answer or procedure is available right at your fingertips. Research has shown that when we think we can access information from someone or something else, then we are less likely to recall that information on our own (Sparrow, Liu, & Wegner, 2011). This is not a new concept. Transactive memory (Wegner, 1985)  basically states that if two people spend a lot of time together, they may each store a different piece of knowledge related to a topic, and are more likely to recall that information when together than if asked separately. The difference now is that the internet has become our daily partner, and we are depending on it as our external memory store. It does such a great job at remembering everything, we don't really need to do this ourselves, we just need to know where to find it. Is this a good or bad thing? I won't get into that, but at a minimum, there are pros and cons. Feel free to battle it out in the comments below.

Sparrow, B., Liu, J., & Wegner, D. M. (2011). Google effects on memory: Cognitive consequences of having information at our fingertips. Science, 333, 776 -778.​
Wegner, D. M., Giuliano, T., & Hertel, P. (1985). Cognitive interdependence in close relationships. In W. J. Ickes (Ed.), Compatible and incompatible relationships (pp. 253-276). New York: Springer-Verlag.
4 Comments
Andrew Talone
9/9/2018 05:26:04 pm

Hi Julian!

Interesting article!

As I was reading the beginning portion regarding your new cup/mug, I was actually expecting to see if you would make one (or more) suggestions to the designers of the cup to improve the design to avoid the issue you encountered (besides providing a warning label/instructions).

I was thinking that it would be useful if there were some way to have the lid (or another aspect of the cup/mug) change color (or switch between one or another icon/graphic) to represent whether or not it is hot, cold, or somewhere in between. I've seen this done with cups/mugs intended for hot OR cold drinks, but I'm not sure if anyone has pulled it off with a cup intended for both hot AND cold drinks. Might not be logistically feasible (at least not without significantly increasing the cost of the cup to an non-competitive level).

I did find this example of a design used for a coffee mug that can at least help you know when your coffee is no longer hot (transitioned from hot to cold).

https://www.amazon.com/Cool-Color-Changing-Magic-Mug/dp/B00IEQ6XMG

The opposite side of the coin (design to help you know something is cold enough) would be something like this:

https://money.cnn.com/2009/07/13/smallbusiness/chromatic_color_changing_ink.fsb/

However, I couldn't find (after a few minutes of Google searching) any cups/mugs out there that are meant to accommodate both ends of the temperature spectrum (when it comes to providing visual feedback of the temperature).

In sum, I was wondering if you had any specific ideas for how the design could be improved to resolve the issue you encountered (or at least make it less likely to occur).?

Also, I'm definitely a victim of the "Google effect" whereby sometimes I don't spend enough time actively memorizing something because I figure I can just look it up again later via Google.

Cheers!

-Andrew Talone

Reply
Julian Abich
9/10/2018 12:30:06 pm

Hey Andrew!

Thanks for the comment.

The way I've been dealing with hot contents, specifically tea, is by placing three ice cubes in it. Through trial and error, I now know it's usually safe to drink in about 10 - 15 mins, even though I still do the tongue test (placing the tip of my tongue in the drink to see how hot it is). Besides occasionally burning my tongue, this process now requires me to have access to ice. Instead of the design accommodating my needs, I am altering my behavior (and risking my tongue's well-being) to use the mug.

Regarding a redesign, I was thinking something along the same lines as you suggested and have found with the mugs. I think it would be interesting if there was a thermometer that presented the temperature numerically on the side. Although the challenge with that is, do every day users really know what a safe consumable temperature is? Or would they have to determine their preferred temperature for consumption through trial and error? A "safe range" can potentially be suggested to them. Maybe the digital thermometer would allow them to set a preferred temperature and notifies them when the contents have reached that temperature. As I am writing this, I did a quick Google search (thermal cups with thermometer) and found a few thermos bottles with LED temperature digital displays with colors that correspond to the temperature range and a couple mugs that offer a similar solution. So I guess the answer for me is, get a new cup that offers these features :)

A follow up to the original post: I came across a third scenario regarding the thermal cup. I was at the beach this past weekend and brought my cup with a cool beverage inside (contents undisclosed). While I was in swimming in the water, the cup was sitting directly in the sun on my beach chair (since the cup doesn't like to swim). When I got out of the water and went to take a sip, the outside of the mug was incredibly hot. Hot to the point that I needed to wrap a towel around it, but the contents were still very cold. So does this now mean we need two temperature indicators? One for the inside and one for the outside? Seems like this design is getting much too complicated. Other designs have done a couple things. One is to add a plastic or cushion/fabric handle. The other is to wrap the cup in a neoprene-type of material which provides protection for your hand and better material to grip. Again, I think the solution for me is to just get another cup :)

Reply
Tarah Daly
9/10/2018 10:44:30 am

In a similar vein to this concept, the increased performance of mobile cameras (those on your smartphone), allow us to take photos and videos anywhere and everywhere we are. By having this pervasive "capture-all" we may be forgetting to slow down, relax, and enjoy the moments we are so wrapped up capturing with our phones. There have been plenty of studies done regarding the effects photo taking can have on your memory of the event.

Reply
Julian Abich
9/10/2018 12:45:14 pm

Hi Tarah!

I agree! I love photography and enjoy capturing sceneries and random, usually funny, things I come across. But you're right, I don't think people live in the moment and truly take in many experiences because they are too busy trying to capture it on film or post it on social media. I am a big concert goer and I see this all of the time. Don't get me wrong, its great to capture video clips or photos of the bands, but when you are holding your phone up recording the entire show, you're no longer there in the moment since you are splitting your attention between the functionality of the camera, posting it online, and watching and listening to the bands. It's even worse when this person is standing right in front of you.

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