Originally published at: Stanley water bottle madness grips America - Boing Boing
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just any old Stanley cup wasn’t enough
Things you’ll never hear a Maple Leaf fan say
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“Let me tell you a story about these things called Beanie Babies…”
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I don’t understand this at all. I have a water bottle. It works quite well. I didn’t even know what brand it was until I just now picked it up to check. It appear to be made by Thermos brand, but with an UnderArmor logo on it? I don’t even know where or when I got it. Nor do I care. I also have a couple of freebies I got over the last few years at school. Actually, that one might be one of those freebies, now that I think about it. Why do people care about this? Am I being silently judged when I drink from my freebie adult sippy cup in public?
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I use a Stanley flask as a small rugged water bottle when I travel. I always have to explain to TSA and flight attendants that it doesn’t have booze in it and always get disapproving looks when a take a swig of water, but that’s part of the fun.
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Is it water that people are drinking out of these? I assumed coffee. Well that’s what I use my Stanley thermos for. I love that thing. Will keep coffee hot for a day and a half easy. I don’t suppose the cups with their less insulated lids have quite the same superpower…
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I am not, but thanks for assuming.
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Please, nobody ever judged a dude by his cup size.
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Same. We have one for each of us. We are not teenagers and don’t bother with social media so no one cares what we drink from and if they do we don’t.
I guess it’s nice some of the name brands are offering more color ranges?
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folks crafting their identity through consumption which, obviously, is nothing new, and also not inherently bad.
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Yeah I think at the point where you are hoarding enough rapidly depreciating merchandise to stock a small camping store for a year on your wall to demonstrate your identity there is a possibility you have hit the bottom of “things you can buy to demonstrate your identity with” and should instead work on the identity issues prompting your bad financial choices. It would be cheaper and also yields permanent results like more secure relationships and a better sense of humor… but try sticking those on a shelf!
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Heavy, expensive, and with a handle that looks like it would prevent it from fitting in the water bottle sleeves of my backpacks and messenger bags.
This all makes me appreciate my own stylish water bottle collection more than ever. My well-used Nalgenes are artfully displayed in the above-mentioned bags as well as the cup holder and backseat floor of my car.
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And Cabbage Patch Kids
I wonder if any of this was fueled by the lady whose car burned with her Stanley in it. The mug survived, it still had ice in it, and the company bought her a new car.
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That happened November 2023. All the articles linked are showing how the trend started well before that. It might be a point where more people became aware of the mugs, but all the production and merchandising and social media hype was underway for years beforehand.
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Naomi Klein pretty well nailed it with her book No Logo.
One might argue that BoingBoing is spreading this destructive phenomenon further by reporting on it, but I’m grateful for the warning, so I don’t inadvertently buy a Stanley bottle and get laughed off the subway as a clueless old fart trying to be trendy. But I’ve always been uncomfortable displaying my brand choices in public.
Just by sitting still I seem to have accumulated a handful of freebie water bottles and coffee mugs over the years, even though my Nalgene* bottle and Contigo* mug will probably last the rest of my life.
*see what I did there? 
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I am fiercely addicted to my Nalgene collection. The 16oz narrow neck is perfect for everything but svelte cupholders. But who cares; it can lay on its side!
I also won’t buy bottled water unless a boil notice has been issued. Then I buy one big spigot-sized dispenser.
Also, f*ck Nestle
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