How do I kill the cup from hell?

My kids all got nice mugs for Channukah. These mugs are just the types that kids love and parents hate. Specifically, they have lights and make noise whenever they are picked up.

One of these cups is clearly defective. It has been making noise non-stop. Keep in mind that Channukah was over a month ago!

We’ve tried everything short of actually breaking the cup (since we’d like to be able to actually use it once it shuts up). We immersed it in water. We even stuck in the freezer. While the volume went down considerably once it was frozen, it didn’t stop. And if we take it out of the freezer, it will start again.

We can’t get to the battery without breaking it. We don’t want to just “get rid of it” either, since it was a gift from my mother-in-law (thanks, Mom!) to my kids.

So, does anyone have any ideas?

Zev Steinhardt

Who made this cup? Maybe the company has a web page with a FAQ that addresses this or at least a 1-800 number that you can call tomorrow.

Haj

Don’t suppose you folks are into exorcism eh? :wink:

I’d say pack it in some towels, stuff it in a corner closet, or better yet in some storage closet at work, and let the batteries run dead.

Put it in the microwave.

put it outside and bug the hell out of your neighbors :smiley:

Can you find a really strong magnet and try to demagnetize the chip / memory?

Is it one of these?

http://www.judaica-world.com/product.asp?dept=166&Product=GRL6

If so, buy a replacement and make the swap without the kid’s knowlegde - “It’s a miracle!” (of course, there may be theological fallout :wink: )

Otherwise, a dremel with a grinding bit will go through ceramics - just go slow and don’t overheat it.

ANother vote for the microwave. an oven would be my second try.

Microwaves heat water (which is why some plastics are “microwave safe” and others aren’t). Doubt if the battery has much moisture, and am reasonable certain the rest of the circuit doesn’t.

<90’s>IT’S HAMMER TIME!</90’s>

You could try drilling it. Drill from the outside (not from the drink contact surface) into the battery or circuit board until it stops working. Fill the hole afterwards with a mixture of fine sand (or the shavings from the drill bit) and superglue and it should be fine.

How about a good rap on a wooden counter top, not enough force to break the cup, but maybe enough to shift a loose connection or to loosen a connection that will result in peace and quiet or perhaps correct operation.

What’s the mug made of? It can’t be baked into a ceramic mug so it must be either embedded in a hole in a ceramic mug, or sealed inside a plastic mug. In either case, I don’t see why you can’t use an X-acto (sp?) knife to get it out.

Microwave sounds a bit dangerous. It would definitely fry the circuit, but there’s no guarantee it won’t cause other damage. Worst case would be an exploding battery.

/hijack

BTW, Zev, whatever happened to the apartment from hell with the collapsed roof?

If it IS one of those, and you’ve been listening to the dreidel song nonstop since Channukah, I’d say you’re well within your rights to take it outside, hit it with a sledgehammer, and drive over the pieces three or four times. Then spit on it, for me.

It not the heat that does it, it’s the direct effect of microwaves on integrated circuits. The music chip should cease to function long before anything happens to the battery.

One more vote here for exposing it to a really strong magnetic field of some kind.

Here’s how to build an electromagnet at home. It’s a school project for 6th graders, so it can’t be that difficult.

http://education.jlab.org/qa/electromagnet.html

All it takes is:

One iron nail fifteen centimeters (6 in) long

Three meters (10 ft) of 22 gauge insulated, stranded copper wire

One or more D-cell batteries

A pair of wire strippers

There are instructions at the end for how to make it stronger (wrap more wire around it, or add more batteries).

No, it’s not the dreidel song. The cup has four dreidels on it, each with a letter that appears on one of the dreidel’s sides. The thing beeps and the lights go on and off. It’s supposed to stop on one of the dreidels, thus simulating a dreidel spin.

The magnet idea sounds like the best bet. We’ll give that a try.

Zev Steinhardt

They finally got around to repairing the ceiling last week. It still needs a little work, but it’s livable for now.

Zev Steinhardt