Paper cup
Apapercupisacupmadeoutofpaperandoftenlinedwithplasticorwaxtopreventliquidfromleakingoutorsoakingthroughthepaper.Itmaybemadeofrecycledpaperandiswidelyusedaroundtheworld.HistoryPapercupshavebeendocumentedinimperialChina,wherepaperwasinventedby2ndcenturyBC.Papercupswereknownaschihpeiandwereusedfortheservingoftea.Theywereconstructedindifferentsizesandcolors,andwereadornedwithdecorativedesigns.TextualevidenceofpapercupsappearsinadescriptionofthepossessionsoftheYufamily,fromthecityofHangzhou.Themodernpapercupwasdevelopedinthe20thcentury.Intheearly20thcentury,itwascommontohavesharedglassesordippersatwatersourcessuchasschoolfaucetsorwaterbarrelsintrains.Thissharedusecausedpublichealthconcerns.OnenotableinvestigationintotheirusewasthestudybyAlvinDavison,biologyprofessoratLafayetteCollege,publishedwiththesensationaltitle"DeathinSchoolDrinkingCups"inTechnicalWorldMagazineinAugust1908,basedonresearchcarriedoutinEaston,Pennsylvania'spublicschools.ThearticlewasreprintedanddistributedbytheMassachusettsStateBoardofHealthinNovember1909.Basedontheseconcerns,andaspapergoods(especiallyafterthe1908inventionoftheDixieCup)becamecheaplyandcleanlyavailable,localbanswerepassedontheshared-usecup.OneofthefirstrailwaycompaniestousedisposablepapercupswastheLackawannaRailroad,whichbeganusingthemin1909.By1917,thepublicglasshaddisappearedfromrailwaycarriages,replacedbypapercupseveninjurisdictionswherepublicglasseshadyettobebanned.Papercupsarealsoemployedinhospitalsforhealthreasons.In1942theMassachusettsStateCollegefoundinonestudythatthecostofusingwashableglasses,re-usedafterbeingsanitized,was1.6timesthecostofusingsingle-servicepapercups.Thesestudies,aswellasthereductionintheriskofcross-infection,encouragedtheuseofpapercupsinhospitals.