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

Transcriber: TED Translators admin Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: Yuwei Duan 審譯者: Lo Hsien Huang

You never give it any thought,

你從不會特別留意它，

and there are billions of them out there,

而且這個東西在世界上有幾十億個，

but the amount of design and passion and creativity

但是這個小小圓盤富含許多 設計巧思、熱情與創意，

that goes into this little disc is remarkable.

實在令人驚嘆。

[Small thing.]

[小物件]

[Big idea.]

[大構思]

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

咖啡杯蓋是爲你的 咖啡杯準備的蓋子，

It snaps on.

它可以自如地打開，

It has an opening.

它有個開口，

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

它有一個可以 打開和關閉的小閂子。

You've got ones that are in creative shapes.

有的杯蓋形狀富有創意。

Coffee cup lids have their own vocabulary.

咖啡杯蓋有它自己的專有詞彙。

People talk about the "peripheral skirts,"

人們會說「翻邊裙」 （peripheral skirts）、

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

「按入式凹槽」 （press-in dimples）、

「香味排出口」 （fragrance outlets）、

the "slosh factor."

「潑濺指數」 （slosh factor）。

But you need these words,

但你需要這些詞彙，

because so much thought and innovation

因爲這些咖啡杯蓋中

包含了大量巧思與創新。

goes into these coffee cup lids.

Our society is just more and more mobile.

我們社會的流動性與日俱增。

Everything is on the move.

萬物不停地運動，

The good part: it's convenient.

咖啡杯蓋的好處是方便。

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

你可以隨時隨地喝咖啡， 不需要坐在餐廳裏。

可以在地鐵上， 也可以在行走途中。

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

壞處是，當你拿著咖啡在路上喝時

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

when you're taking it on the road.

更難享受咖啡的風味。

The first patent for a lid on a cup

杯蓋的首個專利

was in 1934,

於 1934 年問世，

but it was for cold beverages.

但它是爲了冷飲設計的。

And in 1950, this guy named James Reifsnyder

1950 年，一位名叫 詹姆斯·洛夫斯奈德的人

invented the first snap-on lid.

發明了第一個扣合式杯蓋。

But it didn't have an opening for drinking.

但沒有設計可飲用的開口。

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

到了 60 年代，發生了 巨大的文化變遷，

where people started drinking coffee on the move.

人們開始邊走邊喝咖啡。

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

7-11 便利店是首個 提供外賣咖啡的店。

And then came this revolution in 1967.

在 1967 年的變革中，

A man named Alan Frank invented a lid

一位名叫阿蘭·弗蘭克的人 設計了新的杯蓋，

that you could peel a tab off,

你可以從杯蓋上

like in the shape of a guitar pick,

撕掉一塊像吉他撥片的小片狀物，

and drink it from there.

從那裏喝到咖啡。

In 1975, another big advance:

1975 年出現重大進展：

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

你可以揭開杯口的小片狀物， 再把它卡在蓋子上。

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

於是越來越多人 開始喝外賣咖啡。

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

1984 年是咖啡杯蓋 歷史上的一個分水嶺：

the birth of the traveler lid.

旅行杯蓋誕生了。

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

這杯蓋很有代表性， 你已經見過無數次。

And it solved a whole host of problems.

而且它解決許多問題。

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

它的設計不會讓咖啡潑到臉上，

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

因爲它比其他杯蓋要高。

And it's got this protruding rim,

它有這樣的突出杯沿，

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

可以在咖啡碰到嘴唇前 稍微冷卻一下。

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

它的中心有個為鼻子 設計的小凹槽，

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

這樣你就能充分沉浸其中， 享受最濃郁的香氣。

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

它有個迷你出氣孔來排出蒸氣，

and stops it from creating a vacuum.

防止杯内形成真空。

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

正是這種毫不起眼的設計，

until it dribbles on your lap.

可以防止咖啡灑在褲子上。

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

我覺得咖啡杯蓋還會繼續進化，

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

你將看到免洗塑膠杯蓋

to lids that are a little more sustainable.

轉變爲更環保的設計。

We're not going to stop moving.

我們會繼續奔波，

We're not going to stop drinking coffee.

我們會繼續享用咖啡。

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

我覺得這就是咖啡杯蓋 設計工程師的努力方向：

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

讓人在路上喝咖啡

和坐在餐廳裏用陶瓷杯 啜飲咖啡的體驗同樣愜意。

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

Because, you know, coffee is serious business.

因爲，

喝咖啡可是件正經事。