The name is... Du-Mass

Every day I walk over to the place next door and buy myself a 24oz cup of French Roast coffee. I then mosey back to my office and settle in for the day as I enjoy my morning coffee and read the Wall Street Journal.

About once a week, I somehow manage to spill my coffee. On a good week, I will be leaning forward and the desk will come to my rescue. On a bad week, my shirt becomes an embarrassing brown spotted mess.

Up until today, I had a few theories about why I kept spilling my coffee. They ranged from not securing the lid properly, to me just being a complete dumbass. As it turns out, it was more of the latter.

What I discovered this morning is that due to the height of a 24oz cup of coffee, the cup (which is made out of paper) is very susceptible to outside pressure when the coffee level drops below the midpoint. Therefore, holding the cup near the top causes the paper to flex, thus creating a small gap between the top of cup and the plastic lid. What results from this is the phenomenon known as the embarrassing brown spotted mess.

Note: Please do not confuse the "embarrassing brown spotted mess" with the "embarrassing brown spot." While both are brown and embarrassing, they are completely different phenomenons.

Warning: Both phenomenons should be avoided at all costs.

-dunkie