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50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong

Hey look! It’s the Memories of the Futuremug!

  • WWdN in Exile

It turns out that all this talk about getting excited and making things, uh, got me excited to make something.

I don't remember the precise moment this hit me, but I'm pretty sure it happened during one of those times I felt stuck on a story or something, and decided to get out of my office and take a walk. These walks are a fundamental part of my creative process, a time when I let my mind wander away, confident that it will come back with something cool.

During this particular walk, I was thinking about my plans for 2010, what I'll do with my podcasts, and getting excited to do more work on Memories of the Future Volume Two.

That's when my mind ran off like a dog chasing an idea through the forest, returning a few minutes later with something awesome. If I were to create a dialog to dramatically illustrate the way it all came together, it might go something like this:

My Mind: DUDE! OMG! This is going to be so cool!

Me: Okay, I'm listening.

My Mind: We're going to make a mug that goes with Memories of the Future.

Me: Tell me more…

My Mind: On one side, it will have those beautiful space jellyfish that Will designed for the cover.

Me: I love how those look.

My Mind: Everyone does. Will did a great job with them. Now listen, because this is what takes this mug from cool to awesome: On the opposite side of the mug, it says:

Tea,

Earl Grey.

Hot.

Me: Holy crap, My Mind! That's awesome!

My Mind: I know, right?!

Me: High five!

My Neighbor's Kid: Why did Mister Wheaton just slap himself in the head?

My Neighbor: He's a writer, honey. They do weird things like that.

And … scene.

When I got back to my house, I e-mailed the idea to my friend Will Hindmarch, who did the cover and interior design for Memories of the Future, Volume One. About 2 hours later, we'd built the mug and put it into a store at CafePress. I remember saying to Will, "I think this is awesome, and I don't know if anyone else will … but who cares? It's a 2 hour project that has great potential, and if I'm the only person who wants one of these mugs, so what? I'll have one, and I'll be happy."

I vaguely recall Will saying that he thought more than one person would want to have one, but I'm not entirely sure, so I'm not going to quote him. I'm sure he'll chime in here if he wants to add to the historical record. (Edit: Will says, That's pretty much how I remember it going, with the enthusiasm and the hope that people would like it and the glaven. Except that I remember gasping and saying, "That's magnificent!" when you said it should say "Tea, Earl Grey. Hot." on it.)

Now, I'm going to restate something I said on this week's Memories of the Futurecast: In just two hours, my friend who lives on the other side of the country and I created something that anyone in the world can get, if they want it. We didn't have to invest anything other than a little time (and, honestly, Will did all the hard work; I just came up with the idea and tweaked the final specs a couple of times.) I. Love. Living. In. The. Future.

Okay, enough backstory. Here's the 1000 words that matter:

Tea-mug-450px

If you'd like to purchase a Memories of the Futuremug for your very own (or as a gift for the luckiest person you know), you can head over to make it so at my Memories of the Futureshop at CafePress.

Please note that, in addition to Earl Grey, the Memories of the Futuremug is suitable for other types of tea, various kinds of coffee and other hot beverages, pencils, or pudding.

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23 November, 2009 Wil

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CSI: D&D → ← ten quick things, including some math, a comic, and a few ideas

105 thoughts on “Hey look! It’s the Memories of the Futuremug!”

  1. Melly says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:24 am

    Ha! To this day, I cannot drink Early Grey tea without at least muttering that under my breath.
    Brilliant.

  2. Linden4HHoF says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:27 am

    This is a cool idea! You should sign a few of these and put them up on Ebay. Thanks.

  3. Ghislord says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Damnit, now I need one.
    Ithink the only problem will be that my mind will require me to put the mug in the microwave and ask it for Tea, Earl Grey. Hot…
    And nothing will happen, of course. But my mind usually gets its way, sadly.
    *sigh* Here’s to my girlfriend rolling her eyes at me in the near future.
    G!

  4. Will says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:28 am

    That’s pretty much how I remember it going, with the enthusiasm and the hope that people would like it and the glaven. Except that I remember gasping and saying, “That’s magnificent!” when you said it should say “Tea, Earl Grey. Hot.” on it.

  5. Mikedonatello says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:29 am

    Pudding, eh? What a fiendishly clever use for a mug! I must order one and experiment with other, non-mainstream applications of this technology.

  6. KCFlatlander says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:30 am

    Earl Grey drinking Space Jellyfish. Nice.

  7. Craig Steffen says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:32 am

    Memories of the Futuremug is suitable for other types of tea, various kinds of coffee and other hot beverages, pencils, or pudding.
    Individually, but not at the same time.
    Will be buying at least pair, maybe a set of MotFMs. Awesome!

  8. Drillslinger says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:32 am

    Dude, Capt. Picard was the reason I first tried Earl Grey. I LOVE this mug!

  9. Craig Steffen says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:35 am

    Er…Wil and Will:
    At the bottom of the ad page
    http://www.cafepress.com/wilwheaton.417431376
    There are two thumbnails, the front and back of the mug respectively. The front links to a photo of the front; the back…doesn’t. Links to something else. No bad, but you might want to fix it.
    [edit: actually, on a third look, the left one may not be working properly either…]

  10. TSC says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Memories of the Futureshop?
    Oh Wil… you are SO going to get sued.
    http://www.futureshop.ca

  11. Wil says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:38 am

    Can you give me a more-detailed bug report, Craig? It works for me in both Firefox and Safari on my Mac. Are you sure you don't have some scripting disabled or something like that?
    Anyone else having this problem, please chime in.

  12. twitter.com/MarkusHunt says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:39 am

    “Make it so Number 1. And there better be Jaffa Cakes this time or youre on latrine duty!”
    I think I’ve just found my new work mug. Cheers Wil 🙂

  13. pojut says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:39 am

    It took a second, but I finally got the “tea, earl gray. hot” line. I wish replicators were real 🙁
    http://www.livingwithanerd.com

  14. karohemd says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:43 am

    I really hope there will be voice activated microwaves soon. The technology should be there but I guess there’s not enough marketing potential out in the real world.

  15. Pharyngulette says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:44 am

    Me want! Me buy!
    Simple. 🙂

  16. wabbit89 says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:44 am

    Dude. That is exciting! I’m in the throes of NaNo right now, but as always happens when I’m working on a big project, lots of little ones won’t leave me alone! So, come December, I tend to go to bat country with the creativity! Whee!
    Thanks for the inspiration, Wil!
    Oh, and I absolutely, positively, must make it so that I have this mug.

  17. Craig Steffen says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:45 am

    D’oh!
    Correct as usual, Mr. Wheaton. My ammended feature/bug report reads:
    If you browse CafePress website with the “noscripts” plugin activated (which in general I recommend, because browsing is soooo much faster), clicking on thumbnails will have very odd and unpredictable results. The effect of clicking won’t be nothing, but you get shuttled into a random (or not) section of cafepress. When I clicked on the right thumbnail for the “back” of the mug, I got a page with a T-shirt saying something like “Doctors against home birth” or some such.
    My noscripts has been instructed to allow CafePress and all is correct with the world. Cancel alert; sorry about that.

  18. technogamy says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:50 am

    AAAAAAAAARGH! When will the universe stop creating things that I MUST HAVE DO WANT!!?! Oh well. 🙂

  19. karohemd says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:53 am

    Works fine on Windows XP/Firefox 3.5, too.
    It seems to be indeed a scripting issue, I just deactivated NoScript and it doesn’t work.

  20. John Anderson says:
    23 November, 2009 at 10:55 am

    I want a picture of the Borg cube with:
    Oil,
    Quaker State.
    Hot.
    on the other side.

  21. darth muffing says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:00 am

    That’s pretty awesome, actually.
    When I’m writing, and I feel like I need to take a break, I usually watch an episode of some TV show I missed during the week because… I was writing.

  22. Craig Steffen says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:05 am

    The above happened to me on:
    Firefox 3.0.15
    with the current “noscripts” plugin
    Machine is an Asus EEE 1000HD running Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty).

  23. zegron says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:06 am

    You know you’re going to have to mail one of those to Patrick, right Wil? 😀 He seems like he’d get a kick out it. 🙂
    I’ve put it on my Christmas Wish List e-mail that goes around my family. Thanks for an awesome gift idea, I hope I get one!

  24. Wil says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Gotcha. I figured it was a NoScript issue (and *everyone* should be running NoScript, so good on ya!)

  25. Geekenstein says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Memories of the Futuremug Space Jellyfish pudding!! I am laughing out loud. That is SO not going to make any sense when I try to explain it to my wife.

  26. Cari Taylor says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:08 am

    I just ordered a mug and a copy of Memories of the Future as a gift for a friend for Christmas. She’ll love it! “Tea, Earl Grey. Hot.” is one of her all time favorite Trek lines.

  27. Snowbear says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Definitely many and various kinds of awesome associated with said mug. 😀
    Not the least of which is the awesome left handedness of the mug, at least according to the pictures. *lol* Us lefties no longer even have to answer when someone asks us what we are drinking, it’s printed right on the “outside”. Plus we can hoard the beautiful space jellyfish to ourselves instead of exposing them to the world. 😉

  28. Wil says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:13 am

    I'm just giving you the secret LEFTY handshake right now and secretly laughing at all those other people who couldn't overcome being right-handed like we did.
    SNAP!

  29. Sarah says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:14 am

    Too cool. Let’s see what the budget allows.
    Btw Wil, have you seen the uproar regarding the Writer’s Associations – Romance, Mystery and Science fiction and their response to Harlequin’s vanity publishing venture? Any comments as a self publisher?

  30. Wil says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:17 am

    Yeah, I think Harlequin is a bunch of idiots, and they're scamming the hell out of hopeful writers who don't know any better.
    Scalzi said it all best, I think: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/11/20/writers-organizations-to-harlequin-if-youre-not-going-to-act-like-a-real-publisher-were-not-going-to-treat-you-like-one/

  31. Sarah says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:29 am

    Everyone should check out the Smart Bitches blog and Jackie Kessler’s blog post. Just some of the Ws in the RWA.
    http://www.jackiekessler.com/blog/2009/11/20/the-day-after-harlequin-blinks/
    http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/want-to-self-publish-how-about-harlequin/
    Oh sigh, the budget doesn’t allow for purchases in dollars.

  32. FusedLight says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Oooooo… another gift for The Dot’s stocking. Does it mean anything that her ringtone on my phone is the STNG theme and I address her as “Captain” when I answer?

  33. Voodoopants says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:46 am

    Cool concept and execution. No wonder you were excited.
    BTW, just read that David Sedaris is releasing his latest audiobook on VINYL.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/business/media/23vinyl.html?_r=1
    So now I’m looking forward to the day (some time down the road) when we might be able to drop a needle on Memories of the Futurecast, Vol. I. Hee hee…

  34. twitter.com/dhorizon says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:49 am

    I shall be purchasing one when I get paid this month. And then drinking my regular early morning Earl Grey from it.

  35. Jules says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:52 am

    O.M.G. I must have! Having this will alleviate some of the dork I feel when I am heating up water in my microwave and I say to it, “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”
    Yes sometimes I talk to my microwave and pretend it is a replicator because it makes me happy.

  36. twitter.com/larand says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:52 am

    At the risk of outing myself as a TNG/DS9 geek, there could also be a version labeled “coffee, black, double strong, double sweet.”

  37. Alan says:
    23 November, 2009 at 11:53 am

    Little known fact: The replicators on Star Trek had trouble making pudding (hot or cold) and actually made something almost, but not completely, unlike pudding. There was an ensign on the Enterprise whose primary personal mission was to find a replicator somewhere in the galaxy that could make a decent cup of pudding. Sadly, his story never made it into any of the episodes that aired.
    (for a short time, when the Bynars were doing upgrades, the replicators were able to produce a perfect cup of pudding, but that ability was lost when the Bynars left the ship.)

  38. Astin says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Now, to make it even AWESOMER, it should have some of that heat-activated ink. So that when cold, it says “Tea, Earl Grey.” and once the hot tea is added… “Hot.”
    And you can make one of the Farpoint Jellyfish appear and disappear to. Actually seems kind of a appropriate if you think about how the episode had one, and then the other showed up…

  39. Frac says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Yeah! Sold!
    I always wanted to hear Jean-Luc say, “Oh, for… in a MUG you stupid computer!”

  40. Thought says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    Please tell me you’re sending one to Patrick Stewart as his Christmas present??? (:

  41. twitter.com/JediSoth says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    I admit, I too, began drinking Earl Grey because of Captain Picard.
    It took a while before I realized he was saying “Earl Grey” instead of “Olgray”, though. :p

  42. www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=644966078 says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    3 mugs on the way. They’re the perfect way to complete the MotF book gift! Book goes in mug, mug and bag of coffee goes in bag, total WIN. Thanks Wil!

  43. ununseptium says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    DUDE. THAT IS THE BEST MUG IDEA EVER. you officially win, Wil Wheaton.
    I totally started drinking Earl Grey tea because of Picard (and because that was the only other interesting option at the gas station besides green tea).
    I’m so buying this asap.

  44. ununseptium says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    Or, there should also be one that’s just “Coffee. Black.” for Janeway. She’s a trooper, I tell ya.

  45. John says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    Wil,
    Just a suggestion, since some people aren’t Tea drinkers, preferring a cup of joe?
    Maybe make a few saying “Raktajino” or “Coffee. Jamaican Blend. Double strong. Double sweet.”

  46. sapphirescarlet says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    OMG! Brill, Wil! I can’t wait to buy one!

  47. sapphirescarlet says:
    23 November, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    But no one ever said that on TNG.

  48. Dilsnik says:
    23 November, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    Like someone above me said, Picture of Locutus, and the caption: Oil,
    T-grade.
    Hot.

  49. Alicia says:
    23 November, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    Hee hee!! I’m not much of a tea drinker myself – I prefer coffee – but just like many others here, I decided to try Earl Grey just because of Captain Picard. Oh yes, I am a geek… And you know what? I like it! 🙂 There’s some in my cupboard right now… I may go have some. I must get this mug – what a great idea, Wil! I also hope that you send one to Patrick for Christmas (or just because). I think he’d get a kick out of it.
    -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

  50. NewbieMama says:
    23 November, 2009 at 1:31 pm

    I soooooo want one of these mugs. Oh, and these mugs will make great stocking stuffers.

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