Big Dumb Cups Aren’t So Dumb

A recent episode of Saturday Night Live poked fun at the newly trendy Stanley cup (the insulated drink tumbler, not the NHL championship trophy). The SNL sketch, as is common with them, took things to a ridiculous level to humorous effect, but there’s been some very serious controversy over the safety of Stanley cups.

What safety concerns could there be over a drink tumbler?

No, it’s not that the sturdy, stainless steel beverage containers with handles make for crippling bludgeons for people who might become enraged and physically violent in extremely high-stress environments (such as supermarket lines or little league games). Although it is certainly prudent to try to stay out of swinging range if you encounter an angry soccer parent gripping tightly to their Stanley cup!

The concerns are actually over the fact that Stanley uses lead in their manufacturing process (they reportedly are working on changing this), and this fact has gone viral on TikTok and other social media platforms. But the lead is not in any part of the cup that would normally come in contact with your beverage, nor your skin. It’s used to seal the metal cap to the bottom of the cup and you would have to do quite a bit of damage to the cup to be at any risk of exposure to the lead, let alone any significant health concerns from it.

Besides the use as a bludgeon as already discussed, there is one significant health risk from Stanley cups, as well as any other multi-use beverage containers – microbial (bacteria, fungus, virus, etc.) contamination.

These containers are intended to be washed on a regular basis and a lot of people are… less than conscientious about this. Even if the only beverage you put in them is water, bacteria and other microbes from your mouth can begin to accumulate in the tumbler and set you up for recurring infections, gastrointestinal disturbances, and other symptoms.

And even with regular washing, bacteria, algae, fungus, and other microbes can accumulate on and under the o-ring seal around the lid. Cleaning the seal on Stanley cups and similar containers can be done more thoroughly by removing it from the tumbler, but doing this frequently can stretch it out to the point where it doesn’t seal properly, and periodic replacement is usually necessary.

Stanley cups also have integrated straws, and it’s important to keep those clean as well.

SNL called them “big, dumb cups,” but in my opinion, despite the cleanliness issue, Stanley cups and other insulated tumblers are actually a pretty good idea.

First of all, maintaining good hydration throughout the day has numerous health benefits, and carrying around that big chunk of metal has a tendency to remind you to drink some water throughout the day. That is, of course, assuming you fill it with water. Coffee, soda, or something like vodka is less beneficial.

You’re also more likely to drink water that’s been kept at a relatively cool temperature for an extended time by the insulation of the tumbler as compared to single-use plastic bottles with water that gets pretty warm pretty quickly.

In addition, while single-use plastic bottles of water do provide hydration, they also provide you with a dose of plastic particles known as microplastics and nanoplastics. Nanoplastics in particular can wind up inside your cells, and while it’s not yet really known what long-term effects that might have on health, it’s probably not ideal.

Plastic particles are found in most water sources, including tap water, but the number of them in water from disposable plastic bottles is particularly high.

In addition, environmental pollution from single-use plastic bottles is a considerable problem - as is the newly recognized issue of “trapped” or “lost” water.

Trapped/lost water is leftover water that’s in discarded water bottles, that essentially removes water from our environment. How much could that really be? Well, it’s estimated by Quality Water of East Texas that Americans waste 22 million gallons of water each year as trapped water in disposable bottles in landfills!

So, SNL may diss them as “big dumb cups,” but when you take other factors into consideration, insulated stainless steel tumblers (whether they be Stanley cups or a different brand), are actually pretty smart!

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.