Boston University Student project

[Jones121]

We are doing a new product development project for school. We are developing a new kind of travel mug. These travel mugs will have removable silicone inserts so that you don't have to wash the mug between beverages. This would be useful to tea and coffee drinkers alike since it would allow you to get the real taste of the tea every time.

Below is the website we have created for our product. Feel free to check it out and give any feedback or recommendations.

http://www.f09a03t01.info/

Thanks!

[JBaymore]

These travel mugs will have removable silicone inserts so that you don't have to wash the mug between beverages.

As a professor myself, it is nice to see students working on new ideas......... but all I can think of right now is the waste stream generated here with this particular idea.

Give me a nice ceramic mug I can re-use literally forever (there are ceramic pieces extant that are over 10,000 years old)... and a little water to wash it now and then.

best,

..................john

[MarshalN]

Yeah, I honestly can't imagine a reason why I would want this -- it's a big waste producer.

[gingkoseto]

I think what they mean is the inserts can be reused and not necessarily more trash (since they are silicon). But I never think washing the mug costs me too much time or energy (30sec. + 10 Calories?)

[edkrueger]

Umm... why not just put the mug the dishwasher?

[Intuit]

Agreed with Ginkgo. The premise that most tea drinkers are too lazy to rinse a mug is ill-thought. You should have asked for feedback from this forum first before running with the idea.

I see potential hygiene issues from milk and sugar containing liquid residuals in these silicone forms sitting around for days. FDA may have issues with product safety.

From a toxicology standpoint, I wouldn't be all that comfortable having hot acidic liquids in contact with polysiloxanes. You don't say whether you are using the substituted form developed for foodsafe and medical use.

Want a better product? Make a reusable condom that has superior tear-resistance and impermeability to STDs. Your medically-safe silicone feels like skin, eg it's warm to the touch, can be textured, and should be inert to most spermicides. Plus it addresses a big problem: contact dermatitis develops among longterm users of latex and polyurethane condoms, the two most widely used synthetic membranes.

You can even point to the low friction coefficient that aides in ahhh...lubrication difficulties. Plus it can be easily inverted for cleaning.

Make you a fortune, yes it will.

PS: the CDC reported today the resurgence of STDs among student-aged population in the US is steadily growing, now the worst infection rate for syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia in the industrialized world.

PSS: for every case of HIV/AIDS you thwart, you save the US taypayers more than $USD 2M in medical costs.

[Chip]

Why would I want to drink from silicon, why would I want the artificial feel of silicon versus the natural/organic feel of ceramic or similar?

Why, why, why?

[AdamMY]

While I'd rather not drink from silicon, I think as they are silicon you keep the inserts and wash them all when you get around to it... not throw them out. But the video on the site was so bad I had to stop before it really talked about using the product.

[Maitre_Tea]

I think that this is probably just a project for a class, and not intended for serious marketing. I give them a thumbs up for willing to subject themselves to the strange stares that would get from the community, which is something I could never bring myself to do.

[scruffmcgruff]

Want a better product? [snip]

[Sydney]

Why would I want to drink from silicon, why would I want the artificial feel of silicon versus the natural/organic feel of ceramic or similar?

Why, why, why?

Preach it.

[Geekgirl]

These travel mugs will have removable silicone inserts so that you don't have to wash the mug between beverages.

lolwut?

Nah, give me my stainless steel any day. Always washes clean, won't break, will last for years, and doesn't create extra landfill.

[Oolonga]

Jones121,

Do you have any idea that some people wash the outside surface of their mugs as well as the inside?
I guess you don't, otherwise you wouldn't have come up with this ridiculous product.

[woozl]

Whoa, whoa hang on a second.
You mean I gotta wash my tea mug
Aw crap, that's too much work, I quit drinking tea

[Intuit]

>You mean I gotta wash my tea mug

Wooz, it's well known by now that you must have a different cup for every day in the year. You could go a loooooong time without washing a cup without it hampering your tea drinking.