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Pythagorean Cup: Practical Joke Chalice Overflows with Ancient Greek Humor
- fsloth 10y agoIn respect of the greeks, this is one cheap souvenir that can actually provide timeless merriment. I have a few made of burnt clay that are souvenirs from decades ago and still there are new people who can delightfully be educated on the principles of these wonderfull devices.
- StavrosK 10y agoWouldn't it actually be very annoying to have to mop and/or clean things every time?
- fsloth 10y agoSome houses are equipped with sinks, bathubs, etc :)
- StavrosK 10y agoAh yes, the old "Here's your completely ordinary cup of wine. Please drink it over the sink for no particular reason" gag. Gets them every time! :)
- B1FF_PSUVM 10y agoJust call it libation without inclination.
- danaliv 10y agoNeat. It's like a tiny toilet.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- analog31 10y agoSelf flushing urinals used to work this way. The tank above the urinal was filled at a constant rate, and would discharge when the level ran over the top of the siphon.
- amenghra 10y agoCliff Stoll has a page about this. He calls it a Cup of Tantalus and it's part of his Klein Bottle collection. Makes for a fun gift for geeks. http://www.kleinbottle.com/Tantalus.html http://www.kleinbottle.com/Tantalus.html
- kahrkunne 10y agoI'd encourage anyone to read up on Pythagoras. He was a really weird guy who held some inane beliefs and superstitions. Also a cult leader.
- empath75 10y agoI don't think we can know what he really believed or if he existed at all. He's a semi-mythical figure and there are no contemporary accounts of him.
- hashkb 10y agoWith respect to "drinking normally" when the cup is filled below the siphoning point: if you drink by tipping the cup towards the drain pipe, wouldn't that engage the siphon?
- DiThi 10y agoThe drain pipe is as close to the center as possible. When you tilt a cylinder half full of water, the point at the center remains at the same height. Considering the cups are slightly wider at the top than the bottom, it can hold more liquid when tilted, so the height at the center would be a bit lower.
- rebootthesystem 10y agoI remember this cup. I also remember thinking Those both greedy and smart could have simply plugged the hole with their finger and all is good. Pythagoras should have given his students smaller normal cups because, if we go Machiavellian for a moment, people are unscrupulous and will plug the hole, therefore a smaller cup will be more effective. And limited servings.
- robryk 10y agoYou can make this harder by providing multiple small holes all over the bottom of the cup.
- bhaumik 10y agoHere's a neat 4 min video demonstrating how the cup works & how to "beat" it with mercury: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfIT3B4y6E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfIT3B4y6E
- mrfusion 10y agoAnywhere to buy one cheaply?
- IgorPartola 10y ago3D print one?
- robryk 10y ago3D printing stuff that's foodsafe is nontrivial. You not only need a material that is not directly harmful (in temperatures it will be used in), but also most 3d printed surfaces will not be smooth. This makes them very hard to properly clean (especially the parts of such a cup that wouldn't be reachable), which causes biological problems (bacteria and mold growing there). Whatever material such a cup was made out of, I'd've wanted to be able to dismantle it for cleaning, which lessens the advantage of 3d printing over more traditional fabrication techniques.
- chatterbeak 10y agoThis is just a link to a "splog" that rehashes "Periodic Videos" videos. Just subscribe to Brady's channel on YouTube and support the project directly.
- custos 10y agoThis is how toilets work.
- chrisbrandow 10y agoAlso like Soxhlet extractors. That is the coolest chemistry glassware.