New fangled things 09-13-20

I've always been fascinated by the solutions engineers and designers come up with.   How do they design machines that produce complex items like this lid for a takeout coffee cup?

I am a big Starbuck's fan and KoKo and I usually go every two or three days for a latte fix.  But there is a Dunkin' Donuts drive thru between here and the Starbuck's and I decided to give it a try.  The coffee was not as good as Starbuck's, but the egg/bacon/cheese on a croissant was fabulous!  I may switch around in the future.  

But the interesting thing is the lid for the coffee.  It is all of a piece and has the stopper build in.  I always collect the stopper/stirrers from Starbuck's and when I have a baggie full I put them in the recycle can.  I don't know if the pickers at the recycle place actually recycle them, but it makes me feel better about creating more plastic trash.  

Almost one bag full!

The tab is fastened to the middle of the cup and just hooks onto the drinking hole.  I doubt that the lids are recycled, but what a clever person designed this. 

 

As Robert Louis Stevenson declared, 

"The world is so full of a number of things,

That I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

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