Creative Combos!

First word: SPOON

When I think of the word spoon, my immediate inclination is to go ahead and morph it into a fork-like utensil as well – namely a spork. But, if kept simply a spoon, I am led to think about its practical uses: Eating (let’s get real, we’re definitely thinking about two things here, cereal and soup. Not at the same time though of course). Mixing. Measuring. Scooping. Ladling. Balancing on your nose…

When I think of the word spoon, I usually picture a plain, silver spoon. Nothing fancy. But when I think about it long enough, I’ll inevitably picture childhood “kid-spoons.”

When I think of the word spoon, I think of the ridiculous youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrStENrKZa8) about the guy whose spoon is too big. I also think of the kid from the Matrix showing Neo the ropes as he bends the spoon with his mind. Finally, I can't help but think of the classic act of spooning... big spoon vs. little spoon?

Second word: CUP

When I think of the word cup, I think about all of the drinks I would like to put in a cup. Orange juice, Gatorade, ice cold water, a margarita, Jack & Coke, texas tea, sweet tea, milk… Oh so many. I also think about other “cups,” namely a protective cup (think baseball), which is not what we’re talking about here.

When I think of the word cup, I think about the different kinds of cups: plastic cups, tall cups, short cups, glass cups, coffee cups, beer mugs, wine glasses (broad cup definition), sippy-cups, the particular cups I have back home – my comfort cup.

When I think of the word cup, I think of drinking games. Flip CUP. Beer pong. And so many other classy ways to kill time…

(Sidenote: although these two things are oddly in the same general category, they were 2 of my first 3 options, the third being “poop.” I almost tried to make poop and spoon work – pooper-scooper, toilet bowl cleaner… I think you’ll thank me for choosing cup instead.)

Possible Combinations:

• ·      Classic matching kitchenware
• ·      Ladle cup – essentially a cup with a long handle to use for dipping into the drink
• ·      A spoon-storing cup – stylish way to store your spoons without a drawer
• ·      Detachable spoon handle – detach your handle in order to mix your drink, eat your soup, slurp your hot chocolate
• ·      Magnetic cup – can hold the spoons on the side, another way to utilize detachable spoon or spoon storage
• ·      Oversized spoon handle with cup on the end – can be used (jokingly) to give your friend a drink across the table
• ·      Giant spoon with a tiny cup – with “my spoon is too big” written on the side (see the youtube clip above)
•      Giant cup/tiny spoon gag potential?
• ·      Meals in a to-go cup, w/ plastic spoon attached! (attached like the straw on a Caprisun)
• ·      Modern art candle holder – candle in the cup sitting on top of an upright spoon
• ·      Silver cup made entirely of melted spoons
• ·      A pipe – a stem made in the likeness of a spoon, and the bowl as a cup (definite potential ergonomic issues here)
• ·      Restaurant décor – cup shaped trashcans, light-posts as spoons
• ·      Musical instruments – as seen with the cups filled with different amounts of water, played by tapping the spoon on the side of the cups
• ·      Pencil shaped by a spoon, with an eraser in the likeness of a tiny cup

I think the combination with the most potential would be the possibility of creating a cup with a detachable spoon handle. Of course, you would have the basic advantages of a simple cup with a handle. But this is no ordinary cup! Imagine you are mixing up a powdered drink, or mixing in some sweet-n-low to your tea, and there is no spoon in sight. With this handy cup, you can simply remove the detachable spoon handle and mix your drink to your delight. A less desirable hypothetical: you are drinking a hot cup of tea, when all of the sudden you notice a bug floating in your drink! You are the type of person that won’t let this ruin a perfectly good cup of tea, but won’t continue drinking until the bug is gone. In light of how hot the tea is though, you are hesitant to reach in with your hands to get it. So what do you do? Detach the spoon handle and scoop it out. Boom. Tea saved. Finally, think of a time when you were drinking a smoothie of some sorts. For kicks, lets say it is a fresh fruit smoothie, with mango, peaches, pineapples, and strawberries. You get down to the last of the cup, but you can’t quite get the last bit to budge from the bottom. (I think you know where this is going…) So what do you do? Detach the spoon handle and eat enjoy the rest of your smoothie!