Additional Info

• ID Code: F4-33
• Purpose: Demonstrate the siphon in a surprising way.
• Description:
  This special cup is designed to force the consumer to limit his or her intake of certain beverages to a modest amount. The cup is filled so that the liquid level is below a line about one inch below the top, a reasonable drink for temperate individuals. This works out fine, and the consumer may then drink at his or her leisure. If, however, liquid is poured into the cup above the level indicated by the line, the greedy consumer receives his or her just deserts as ALL of the beverage then is siphoned out of the cup through a hole in the bottom.

  Background:

  The central shaft in the cup contains a tube that functions as a siphon. An opening low in the cup leads to a (usually hidden) tube that rises to the top of the shaft and then curves down again to exit at the base of the cup. When the fluid level in the cup rises higher than the upper curve of the tube, it can act as a siphon and drain out all of the liquid. Similar mechanics are used in some household appliances to cause them to drain when liquid reaches a maximum level.

  Despite the name, it is unclear whether the mathematician Pythagoras of Samos actually invented this device; but the earliest examples are believed to date to approximately that era (the 6th century BCE).

• Availability: Available
• References: REFERENCES: PIRA Unknown.