The Plasma Mug

Ahhh… glowy things. How you enchant me. Glow-in-the-dark necklaces sold at Disney World and carnivals when I was a kid always had me running to my parents begging for a few bucks. LED throwies always thrill me and plasma globes have me running my hands over them in novelty shop in the mall. Rarely serving any purpose beyond catching my eye and tickling my fancy, glowy things rarely do much else.

That is why seeing a glowy thing with a true purpose delights both the logical “Code Monkey” left side and tacky “A.D.D. Child” right side of my brain. The Plasma Mug & Coaster works mostly how you’d think it would. Plug the base station in (or use batteries for a more portable plasma mug experience) set the mug on top and viola… you’ve got a glowy plasma filled mug!

The right and left brains have their collective feathers ruffled once you actually try to use the mug to drink out of. The left brain quickly catches on that this mug is not going to be useful for more than a couple of gulps before you need to refill it. The “mug” has the same volume as a juice glass, somewhere around 6 fl oz. That’s about 3 ice cubes and a gulp of liquid. The right brain starts running off chasing butterflies when you realize the vibrant glow nearly disappears when liquid is actually IN the glass and disappears completely when you take the mug off the base. Dreams of drinking your coffee out of a mug shining with the fuel of a small sun vanish at this point.

On the bright side, we are still talking about a mug shaped plasma ball that’s battery powered and lends quite a bit to your geek cred. Plasma balls might be a little out of style, but they never stop being cool or fun to run your hands along and pretend you’re a wizard. The mug is just plain cool and due to its unique form factor, you’re getting a slightly useful drinking glass to use in a pinch.

Pros:
• Its Glowy!
• Catches the attention of your office mates.
• Can be used with both battery power and included AC adapter.
• Power switch on the base lets you turn it on and off easily.

Cons:
• The glow ends as soon as it is removed from the base.
• Small inner volume holds about 3-4 gulps of liquid or 1-2 gulps with ice.
• Filling the glass up makes the glow go away.
• Narrow inner diameter makes it very hard to clean the inside.

Bottom Line:
Its a fun little gadget, but now mostly sits on my desk looking pretty while I use a real mug to drink out of. But if you’re the kind of geek that likes shiny gadgets and doesn’t mind the small size, its a great little conversation starter and fun piece of modern art to have in your desk area. With the low price of $25 you probably won’t go wrong especially as a novelty gift for that geeky friend.