Why we love it:
Here at Surprise.com we feel that people don't ask nearly enough of their drinkware. Most people seem to need nothing more than the ability to hold a beverage, and perhaps, if we're getting fancy, a handle. This bare minimum of performance seems pretty shabby to us. We prefer to drink from things which are a
portable writing surface or are
extremely temporary or, like our latest find, are a beverage container and laser light show in one. The plasma mug is a unique, double-walled glass mug with a special electronic coaster that allows you to put on quite the display. When sitting on its coaster, the mug responds to the touch of your hand, brilliant light following your fingertips as you trace whatever designs you please into the surface. It holds eight ounces of hot or cold beverage, but whoever you give it to may find their coffee getting cold and their soda getting flat while they play with this simply fascinating new toy. Of course, that's half the point, sometimes the journey is better than the, um, coffee, and in the case of this engaging little toy, it's almost certainly true. We may all have been told not to play with our food, but I don't remember any rules about playing with our
food containers, so give them a little something to enliven their desk, or entertain their guests at their next party.