I remember my first cup holder. It was an awkward, plastic device that attached to door of my car. It was supposed to hold a small cup or can of soda. It did so, though not very successful. If I were to accelerate too quickly or take a sharp corner too fast, my drink would usually end up on the floor or in my lap.

Then, sometime in the 80s, I started seeing built in cup holders in cars. They tended to work much better than the portable ones. At first cars had one or two of these containers. Then they seemed to multiply. Every seat in a car needed a personal cup holder, or so it seemed. I’ve heard it said that the number of cup holders in a car is a major factor for people who are shopping for a new car. (Photo: cup holder on a chair in LAX.)

Now cup holders seem to be showing up everywhere. They’re omnipresent in movie theatres, which is helpful, though potentially awkward if the person sitting next to you is a stranger. Who gets to use the cupholder? Perhaps we need rules like: “Please use the cupholder on your right.”

While on vacation, I noticed a cup holder in a grocery cart. If you look closely at the photo I took, you’ll see places for pencils and coupons as well, a multi-purpose cup holder! I also spotted a cup holder on chairs in the airport. This made me wonder if the use of cup holders minimizes spills, and thus cuts cleaning costs.

I wonder where the next cup holders will show up? Have you seen any in unexpected places? Do you have any suggestions for where we could use a few cup holders?