We Americans like our coffee. During the Civil War, coffee was considered an "essential ration," one that should be consumed “even at the expense of bread." Currently, 54% of Americans drink coffee on a daily basis (averaging 3.1 cups per day), while a further 25% drink it occasionally. Some of us like our coffee mellow (read: weak), others, like me, like it strong enough to strip the rust from an abandoned '58 Ford pickup. Whatever your preference, coffee's ubiquity was certain to inspire some way to individualize the coffee drinker, and make possible the identification of his or her particular cuppa joe (not to mention guard against an accidental spit-swap with Weird Marvin in accounting). Enter the novelty coffee cup! You've seen them, you've laughed at them, and there are some pretty unique vessels made to hold this popular potable over at toxel.com. See below for a few examples:

This design thoughtfully provides storage for snacks:

Can't imagine why this is a favorite among ex-frat boys:

The "I-Just-Switched-to-Decaf" mug/knuckleduster combo cup:

—Tom