Some people collect stamps. Some people collect coins. I collect half-cups. You know, those cheesy cups you see at tourist traps that say “[Such and such place] was so expensive I could only afford half a cup!” Yeah, those. I don’t know why. I think I saw one for the first time and just thought, this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen, I just have to have it. I credit my Dad with developing this obsession, as he always loved to observe the crazy t-shirt sales you’d see in places like Atlantic City “10 t-shirts for $10, what a deal!”
Anyway, here’s the cup that started it all:
Good ole San Francisco. Now this cup actually made sense, as San Francisco is ridiculously expensive. I originally purchased this cup in ~2006 I think but then lost it in a move and had to re-purchase it. While I was in San Francisco I also found this Alcatraz one.
The next two to enter my collection were Toronto and Niagara Falls. As I was living just outside Toronto at the time though, it wasn’t a very meaningful addition. The purpose of adding cups to my collection from here on out was to show “see, the rest of the country/world enjoys these stupid things too!”
This cup from Virginia was one of the next ones, and makes the least sense. I found this cup in a random gas-station along I-81 after I had moved to the US and was driving home. It was not expensive.
I added on Washington D.C. and Las Vegas about a year later while attending ANS conferences. Those, like San Francisco, at least made sense.
Nashville is the first cup my husband (then boyfriend) every bought me, and was the first (and so far only) shot glass I ever added to my collection. My order of preference for half cups goes: 1. Full size; 2. Shot glass; 3. Miniature. We have since found a full sized Nashville half-cup, but this one has sentimental value as it introduced my husband to this part of me, so I’ve stuck with it.
Aruba and Paris were the first non-North America locations I added to my collection. I saw a mini half-cup in Belgium, it didn’t have the same “[such and such place] was so expensive” theme, but I decided it would have to do if I wanted to expand much outside the Americas. However, the shop was closed, and I never managed to get back there when it was open.
Budapest is only a slightly-authentic addition to my collection, as I’ve never actually been there. I like to generally only add cups to my collection from places I’ve visited. However, my mum bought me this one when she learned of my obsession, and so I’ll allow it. Cups from close friends and family, that they purchased on travel, are now acceptable, but only if the purchase is initiated by the purchaser out of a desire to contribute to this weirdness, I will never request a purchase from a place I haven’t been.
Malmo Sweden, Finland, Copenhagen Denmark, and Belgrade Serbia round out my collection as mini-half cups, as they were all that were available. I have now gone fully international! Special thanks to my World Nuclear University colleagues for helping me spot and collect the Nordic cups. I unfortunately never did fine one in Norway, or in Berlin, during my side trips.
So now, my request to you dear friends and family. If you ever see a half-cup from a place that I have visited (see my Travel page, or also most big cities in the US/Canada!) please let me know, and if possible purchase it! I will be sure to repay you with a finders fee 🙂