I saw the Utah Teapot at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View when I visited in late 2004. I didn't know it was there. I immediately started calling friends, while standing there in the "Visible Storage" exhibit gawking at it, telling each of them, breathlessly: "I'm looking at _the_ Utah teapot."
I was told later by a docent that my reaction was not uncommon. >smile<
apitman
I work at the University of Utah. They had an incredible graphics symposium a few years ago[0]. I got a render of the teapot signed by several of the speakers, which is a prized possession. There was another guy there with an actual replica teapot which he got signed. I was pretty jealous.
Sadly Alan Kay was unable to attend so I didn't get to meet him.
Tangential & graphics-related: there is a story where Jim Foley requested a pirated Eastern European copy of his text (… which heavily features the Utah teapot) as a souvenir.
He found it hilarious that every single equation in the pirated book were reverse images.
GreenLightGo
I'd 3D-print it, but I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to boil tea in it...
jolt42
The pelican on the bike seems like the new teapot.
zombot
The Utah Teapot, including warp nacelles, should really have a statue erected in its honor.
If there were a digital city somewhere on the net, accessible to everyone, that would be a great place to put it.
car
The original pot is from Melitta [0]. The 3D model seems a bit squished down though.
I was just discussing with my coworker how the demo program for the 3D Spacemouse is rotating the Teapot. Takes a bit of practice, but makes CAD more fun.
lwhi
Does the Utah Teapot, pour tea well?
pmg
I’ve had both an original Friesland/Melitta Utah Teapot and the ~2017 reissue.
The interiors differ between the original and the reissue. The latter has an integrated ceramic strainer near the spout root not present on these models updated interior geometry.
I saw the Utah Teapot at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View when I visited in late 2004. I didn't know it was there. I immediately started calling friends, while standing there in the "Visible Storage" exhibit gawking at it, telling each of them, breathlessly: "I'm looking at _the_ Utah teapot."
I was told later by a docent that my reaction was not uncommon. >smile<
I work at the University of Utah. They had an incredible graphics symposium a few years ago[0]. I got a render of the teapot signed by several of the speakers, which is a prized possession. There was another guy there with an actual replica teapot which he got signed. I was pretty jealous.
Sadly Alan Kay was unable to attend so I didn't get to meet him.
[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui3R1Dlmsk0
Related. Others?
The original Utah teapot(1.4L) is in stock - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31178947 - April 2022 (7 comments)
Why a Computer History Museum Owns a Legendary Teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29259548 - Nov 2021 (1 comment)
Show HN: Teapong – A two-player game for fans of Pong and the Utah teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22137758 - Jan 2020 (12 comments)
Bézier Curves and Surfaces: The Utah Teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19690575 - April 2019 (7 comments)
The Utah Teapot: Most Important Object in Computer Graphics History - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11209690 - March 2016 (52 comments)
Utah Teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7280289 - Feb 2014 (17 comments)
I wanted to buy one some time ago but sadly they are not produced anymore because the factory burned down.
There is a teapot statue in Dublin, Ireland: https://maps.app.goo.gl/v2GjqYad9n7HhHgP8
I bought one for my home, albeit a 4 person size instead of the original 2(forgot how much ml)
I first saw Utah Teapot in OpenGL:
https://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/glut/spec3/node89...
Surprised to see the teapot got another update this year.
Anyone else getting a 418 error trying to access this site?
The "Wilhelm scream" of 3D.
I know it well from BeOS, and the Toy Story tea party scene.
Oh, and the 3D pipes screensaver.
Here is an old IBM research video on breaking the Utah teapot in 1989[1]
1. https://youtu.be/3NQuHpUyZbI?is=sjkQcadU6_IHjgr0
Tangential & graphics-related: there is a story where Jim Foley requested a pirated Eastern European copy of his text (… which heavily features the Utah teapot) as a souvenir.
He found it hilarious that every single equation in the pirated book were reverse images.
I'd 3D-print it, but I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to boil tea in it...
The pelican on the bike seems like the new teapot.
The Utah Teapot, including warp nacelles, should really have a statue erected in its honor.
If there were a digital city somewhere on the net, accessible to everyone, that would be a great place to put it.
The original pot is from Melitta [0]. The 3D model seems a bit squished down though.
[0] https://spectrum.ieee.org/behold-the-worlds-most-famous-teap...
I was just discussing with my coworker how the demo program for the 3D Spacemouse is rotating the Teapot. Takes a bit of practice, but makes CAD more fun.
Does the Utah Teapot, pour tea well?
I’ve had both an original Friesland/Melitta Utah Teapot and the ~2017 reissue.
The interiors differ between the original and the reissue. The latter has an integrated ceramic strainer near the spout root not present on these models updated interior geometry.
This listing appears to show a “vintage” teapot with the strainer on photo 8 - so I guess the plot steepens: https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/melitta-friesland-minden-teekann...
I wonder the reasons for adding/removing the base rims over the years
The Utah Teapot is filled with fry sauce.
Don't forget the one rendered in the Commodore Amiga [1] in Realsoft 3D [2].
[1] https://www.meskanen.com/history.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realsoft_3D
I always knew about/used teapot in game engines and what not, but never knew the origin.
I guess they want to make their mark like Stanford dragon[0].
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_dragon