A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 2 Contents Our Team — Plot Twisters 3 The Mug Chronicles: From Cave to Kitchen 4 Mug Marvels: Facts You Didn't Know 5 Mug Puzzle: Crossword Challenge 6 Unusual Uses of a Mug 7 Mug Talk: Idioms & Phrases 8 Mug in Focus 9 Design the Future Mug 10

A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 3 Plot Twisters Lyceum №230 • Zarechny, Penza Oblast Our Team Apenkina Elena Vladimirovna Sofia Miryaeva • 11A Svyatoslav Polilov • 11A Alice Isakova • 11B Daria Beglova • 10B Veronika Elizarova • 10B

A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 4 The Mug Chronicles: From Cave to Kitchen 01 We reach for it without thinking every morning. It waits quietly on the kitchen table, holding our first drink of the day. Morning coffee, afternoon tea, evening cocoa, the mug is always close at hand. 02 Perhaps that is why this little vessel is worth talking about. We see it daily, but rarely wonder how this object became part of the English language. 03 A mug is a large drinking cup with a handle. 04 Believe it or not, the first prototypes of mugs were shells and fruits. In the Middle Ages, mugs were made of wood, clay and metal and were decorated with carvings. 05 Today, the evolution of the mug continues. We have thermal mugs with double walls, mugs with LED displays and even 3D-printed mugs. Some can change their appearance depending on the temperature of the drink. 06 The word “mug” has a unique etymology. It is believed to have Scandinavian origins. It appeared in English around 1400, originating from Swedish “mugg” and Norwegian “mugge”, meaning “pitcher with a handle”. 07 Surprisingly, “mug” can also mean a face and even a robbery. From the 17th century, English potters made mugs shaped like caricatured faces. Later, the word entered boxing slang with the meaning “to strike in the face”. The criminal meaning followed soon. 08 This makes the mug more than an ordinary vessel: it is an everyday companion, a keeper of memories and a fascinating part of the English language.

A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 5 Mug Marvels: Facts You Didn't Know 1. The biggest mug The world record mug was over 3 metres tall and held more than 9,000 litres of tea. That would be enough to give tea to a whole school. 2. Why does a mug have a handle? The handle was invented for convenience and safety. When hot drinks became popular in Europe in the 18th century, people burnt their fingers on the hot walls. The handle let them hold the mug without touching the hot surface. The Meissen manufactory in Germany was one of the first to add handles to porcelain cups in the early 1700s, because of hot chocolate. In England in 1707, Johann Friedrich Böttger officially “invented” the tea handle. 3. How many mugs are in an average home? According to a 2024 survey, the average American owns 12 mugs, but regularly uses only 3–4 of them. In Russia the situation is similar: in families of 2–4 people there are usually 8–15 mugs, and sometimes more. 4. Why are mugs cylindrical, not square? Because a cylinder is comfortable to hold, stable, and holds more drink. It is also easier to wash because there are no corners where dirt collects. 5. What are mugs made of? Ceramics, porcelain, glass, metal (enamel, steel) and even plastic. Each material has its own character: ceramics keeps heat, glass shows the colour of the drink, metal does not break on the road. 6. Big mug or small mug? If you drink coffee in the morning, a big one. If you drink tea slowly, a small one. But most people just take the one that is closest in the cupboard. 7. Can you wash a mug in a dishwasher? Yes, but not all mugs. Mugs with a pattern or a gold rim may fade. That is why the bottom often says: “dishwasher safe” or “hand wash only”.

A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 7 Unusual Uses of a Mug Most people think a mug is only for tea or coffee. But a mug can be so much more than that! Someone uses a mug as a pencil holder on their desk. Someone else uses it as a small flower pot for a tiny plant. And someone even plays music on it with a spoon! So don't throw away your old mug. Give it a second life! SCAN ME • Watch our video

A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 8 Mug Talk: Idioms & Phrases The word “mug” appears in several English idioms and slang expressions. Here are five examples, each with a different meaning. 1. A mug's game a stupid or hopeless activity. Trying to learn 100 words in one hour is a mug's game. 2. Mug up on something British English: to study hard or brush up on something. I need to mug up on irregular verbs before the test. 3. To mug slang: to rob someone in the street. He was mugged in the park last night. 4. Not my mug of tea not my thing; not what I like. Horror films are not my mug of tea. 5. Mug shot a police photo or an ID photo. The police took his mug shot. Try it yourself! Write your own sentence with one idiom.

A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 9 Mug in Focus Literature • Music • Cinema • Art The Mug on Stage Literature, Music, Cinema & Art A familiar object can become a small visual symbol: a prop, a still-life detail, a sound-making object, or a memorable part of a scene. The etymology of the word “mug” SCAN ME • Watch the video

A VESSEL WITH A STORY • 10 Design the Future Mug Each of the five team members suggested an idea for the mug of the future. A self-heating mug This mug heats itself with a small battery inside. You pour cold water, press a button, and in one minute your drink is hot. It keeps tea warm for hours and shows the temperature on a small screen. A mug that talks This mug can speak with a small speaker inside. It says “Good morning!” when you pour tea and “Time to wash me!” when you finish. You can even record your mum's voice to remind you about homework. A flying mug This mug can fly with small propellers and a mini-motor. You say “Mug, come here!” and it flies to you without spilling a drop. It finds you in any room and has a small light to see in the dark. A mug that never gets dirty This mug cleans itself in 10 seconds with a tiny UV light. Tea and coffee don't stick to its special coating inside. You never need to wash it. It always smells fresh, even after a week. A mug that changes colour This mug is blue when cold and turns red or orange when you pour hot tea. It can also show pictures, for example a cat or your name, on the side. It can change colour 1000 times and never fades.