The evolution of the coffee cup lid | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators admin Reviewer: Camille Martínez

Translator: 潘 可儿 Reviewer: H.L. Au

You never give it any thought,

你從來都唔會留意佢

and there are billions of them out there,

但係世界上有無數多個佢

but the amount of design and passion and creativity

但係關於呢樣嘢嘅 設計、熱情同創意

that goes into this little disc is remarkable.

就多到驚人

[Small thing.]

[ 小東西 ]

[Big idea.]

[ 大諗法 ]

The coffee cup lid is a lid for your coffee cup.

咖啡杯蓋就係 你杯咖啡嘅蓋

It snaps on.

佢就咁套上去

It has an opening.

佢有個開口

You've got lids with a little latch that opens and closes.

有啲蓋有個細細嘅開口

You've got ones that are in creative shapes.

仲有各種各樣嘅得意造型

Coffee cup lids have their own vocabulary.

咖啡杯蓋有佢哋 自己嘅專用詞彙

People talk about the "peripheral skirts,"

大家會講「圍邊裙」

the "press-in dimples," the "fragrance outlets,"

「下按凹槽」 「香氣出口」

the "slosh factor."

「瀉出因素」

But you need these words,

你要用到呢啲詞

because so much thought and innovation

因為呢啲咖啡杯蓋

goes into these coffee cup lids.

融入咗好多諗法同創新

Our society is just more and more mobile.

我哋嘅社會變得 越嚟越行動自如

Everything is on the move.

一切都係度郁緊

The good part: it's convenient.

好處係：咁好方便

You can drink coffee anywhere, you don't have the stay in the diner.

你喺邊都可以飲咖啡 你唔使一直坐喺餐廳

你可以喺地鐵飲 你可以邊行邊飲

It can be in the subway. You can be walking.

The bad part is, it's harder to savor a coffee

而壞處就係 當你行緊時

when you're taking it on the road.

就好難去品嘗一杯咖啡

The first patent for a lid on a cup

關於杯蓋嘅第一個專利

was in 1934,

誕生於 1934 年

but it was for cold beverages.

但係，係冷飲杯蓋嚟嘅

And in 1950, this guy named James Reifsnyder

1950 年，呢個叫 詹姆斯·羅斯內德嘅人

invented the first snap-on lid.

發明咗第一個按扣杯蓋

But it didn't have an opening for drinking.

但係佢冇一個飲嘢嘅開口

In the '60s there was this huge cultural shift,

喺六十年代 文化發生咗大轉變

where people started drinking coffee on the move.

大家開始變行邊飲咖啡

And 7-Eleven was the first to sell coffee to go.

而 7-11 就係第一間出售 外賣咖啡嘅商店

And then came this revolution in 1967.

之後就到 1967 年嘅革命啦

A man named Alan Frank invented a lid

一個叫阿蘭·弗蘭克嘅男人

發明咗一種可以 撕開開口嘅杯蓋

that you could peel a tab off,

like in the shape of a guitar pick,

開口好似吉他撥片咁樣

and drink it from there.

咁你就可以飲到咖啡啦

In 1975, another big advance:

1975 年，又有另一個大進步：

you could peel back a tab and attach it to the lid itself.

你可以撕開開口 再將佢黐返蓋度

So, more and more people started drinking coffee on the go.

咁，就有越嚟越多人 開始變行邊飲咖啡啦

In 1984, a watershed moment in the history of coffee cup lids:

1984 年就係咖啡杯蓋 歷史嘅分水嶺

the birth of the traveler lid.

「旅行杯蓋」誕生咗

And it is iconic -- you've seen it a million times.

而佢係好經典嘅 你已經見過佢無數次啦

And it solved a whole host of problems.

而佢解決曬全部嘅問題

It's designed so that you don't splash your face,

呢種設計令咖啡唔會潑落你塊面到

because it's higher than any of the other ones.

因為佢高過哂其他杯蓋

And it's got this protruding rim,

而佢突出嘅邊緣

so it slightly cools the coffee before it hits your lips.

可以喺咖啡入口之前 稍微降低佢嘅溫度

It's got a small depression in the center for your nose,

佢有一個細凹槽 就對正你嘅鼻

so you can really get in there and get maximum aroma.

咁你就可以充分聞到香味

It's got this tiny air hole that lets the steam out

呢個細氣窿可以放走蒸汽

and stops it from creating a vacuum.

同時防止產生真空

This is one of those objects where you just don't notice it

杯蓋就係嗰啲你唔會去留意嘅嘢

until it dribbles on your lap.

直到啲咖啡淋濕你大髀

So I think the coffee cup lid will just continue to evolve,

所以我覺得咖啡杯蓋會繼續進化

and you're going to see a move away from single-use plastic lids

跟住你就會見到即棄塑膠杯蓋

to lids that are a little more sustainable.

向更加可持續嘅杯蓋發展啦

We're not going to stop moving.

我哋唔會停止前進

We're not going to stop drinking coffee.

我哋唔會唔再飲咖啡

And I think that's what these coffee lid engineers are trying to do,

我覺得咖啡杯蓋工程師 嘗試做緊嘅嘢

is to make it so that the experience of taking it on the road

就係令到邊行邊飲咖啡嘅體驗

is as good as sitting in a restaurant, drinking from a ceramic cup.

同坐喺餐館裡面 攞陶瓷杯飲一樣咁正

Because, you know, coffee is serious business.

因為，你知啦 咖啡係件大事嚟