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Clayton Bailey Press 0101000010101 |
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THE SQUIRTING CUP |
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| Clayton Bailey's
fascination with practical jokes, and magic
tricks can be traced back to his childhood. He
and his art often play the role of the
practical joker, magician, or clown to tweak
the minds of his viewers; often referring to
the viewer as the "victim". A number of his
small works are lsimilar to novelties found in
the Johnson Smith Catalog, but they have a
unique or original twist. SQUIRT TRICK CUPS Bailey read about a "Spitting Frog in a Cup" in a 19th Century book about magical apparatus. Unable to locate any further information about such a cup, Bailey decided to design a "Spitting Cup" himself. For three years, he tried dozens of experimental designs by trial and error until in 1981, he found one that worked. The Squirt Cup spews liquid into the drinker's face when it is tilted because air pressure is created within the double walls of the cup when it is filled. Tilting the cup disturbs the equilibrium, and a pressurized bubble of air escapes, forcing liquid into the victim's face. In 1984, U.S. Patent #4440390 was granted for a Novelty Cup for Forcibly Ejecting Liquid Into The Drinker's Face. Several prototypes with different designs were made. The Old Faithful cup pictures a geyser. Another says, "California Springwater". When the Hazardous Waste Jar was demonstrated for the Cal-OSHA inspector at the State University, it squirted water three feet into the safety inspector's face. THIEF TRICK CUP The Thief Cup, made in 1979, is also a double-walled container. The black glaze conceals a narrow slit located at the high water level of the cup. This slit allows the drink to flow into a hidden chamber between the double walls of the cup so that it never reaches the drinker's lips. As the cup is tilted, the drink comes tantalizingly close to the lips, but soon the cup is empty, and not a drop has been swallowed.
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