# Put some liquid in the cup. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890 "2009-02-08T04:34:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/21 "2009-02-08T21:42:46Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The feeling is that no sane person would care about such a nit. I guess I’m not sane then. Seeing an actor wave their coffee cup around empty is right up there with seeing wires and microphones dangling down into the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/22 "2009-02-08T22:04:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The feeling is that no sane person would care about such a nit. Maybe it’s not sane, but it’s not like anybody chooses to notice this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/23 "2009-02-08T23:31:54Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Look, it’s a pain in the neck to keep track of beverage levels, and you run the risk of spills getting on someone’s costume and causing problems. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/24 "2009-02-08T23:44:23Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This bothers me, too. And it’s worse in stage productions, where there is no risk of any continuity errors AND you can not only see the cups are empty, you can HEAR it. At my theatre we always use liquid in cups. Most times it’s water with some sort of colouring. The issue that occasionally comes up is that if a cup gets knocked over all of a sudden there is a puddle on stage and there might not be anything on set to clean it up. Then you end up with a whole lot of ad libbing while one actor makes an excuse to leave the stage to get a rag from “another room”. If we can we keep something to clean up messes on stage, but with some sets that’s not an option. Thats why I love shows where there is a maid character. It makes mistakes so much easier to cover. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/25 "2009-02-08T23:58:03Z")
I thought from the title this was gonna be another diva cup thread. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/26 "2009-02-09T02:47:13Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Same thing for Jon Stewart, who always pretends to be writing something when they come back from a commercial break. Do you expect him to actually write something meaningful? Well actually he does write things - the other day in fact he’d drawn a picture of a sheep and he was so proud of it he turned it around and showed it to the camera. (Well, I that isn’t exactly MEANINGFUL, no, but it isn’t PRETEND.) Dennis Miller always did that annoying “pretend” scribble while he said: “I. AM. OUTTA. HERE.” at the end of the SNL weekend update and we all know what happened to him. MAKE YOUR SCRIBBLES COUNT, KIDS! ---
**Author:** ![jaaaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@jaaaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaaaine)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/27 "2014-11-18T12:08:00Z")
You are totally not alone in this! It has been bugging me for years and years! And if the cup HAS to be empty, can’t the actors learn better how to fake drinking coffee… Seriously ! ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/28 "2014-11-18T12:19:29Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > What about talk shows, where some guests comes on and they have a coffee mug there? They often don’t even touch it, and if they do it’s only once or twice. It’s really there only as a prop so that they can do something while the host is talking. I love Graham Norton because on his show, the guests are often drinking wine or liquor, in proper glasses. None of this bullshit of “coffee” for them. Liquor! 😃 > [@](#): > > Same thing for Jon Stewart, who always pretends to be writing something when they come back from a commercial break. Do you expect him to actually write something meaningful? What the hell would he need to write then and there? It’s just an act to make it seem like he’s “investigating” something, rather than performing. I thought it was either an homage to Dennis Miller on SNL or that Jon Stewart was writing a to-do list. “Wash sox. Call mom. Get milk.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/29 "2014-11-18T14:11:16Z")
This reminds me of something that happened at least 50 years ago. My family was watching _ **Dick van Dyke** _ one evening, and Rob had a cup of coffee in his hand. The exchange in our living room went something like this: **MY MOM:** You know, there really isn’t any coffee in that cup. **MY OLDER BROTHER:** Yes, there is. **MY MOM:** No, there isn’t. Actors never have cups with coffee in them, they’re always empty. **MY OLDER BROTHER:** No, there’s coffee in it. I know because I saw it. It came up to right about … there! [_Points to level in cup on screen_.] **MY MOM:** Don’t try to tell me there’s coffee in there, because I know there isn’t! **MY OLDER BROTHER:** Yes, there is! The discussion became quite heated at this point. I presume they could have gone on all night. How weird that something like this should stick in my mind after all these years. Whenever I watch _ **DvD** _ nowadays, I think of this incident! My brother was right. There _was_ coffee in the cup; I saw it too! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/30 "2014-11-18T14:13:26Z")
Something even weirder: They had exactly the same conversation when that episode was rerun sometime later, at exactly the same point in the show! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/31 "2014-11-18T14:42:08Z")
Any actor will tell you, when there is liquid in the glass, it’s almost always been dicked with by the stage crew. It’s actually Bourbon, or salted water, or some other foul thing or other. To such a degree that the actors are only going to pretend to drink due to brutal experience, I suspect. Because it’s easier to pretend to drink than to cover up an actual mouthful of awful! But I take your point, it is distracting. My pet peeve is boxes, bags and suitcases which are clearly empty. It’s easily seen because of the way they handle it, etc. I mean, how hard would it be to just throw a couple of books in there to give it some heft and make it more visually believable? It’s not like it costs anything more to do. And no one expects them to put 50lbs in or anything! Once you notice it, it’s very distracting. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/32 "2014-11-18T14:50:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Fill the cup to an appropriate level with white glue dyed the desired color. Let harden. Problem solved: weight, heft, no danger of changing levels or stains. Takes all of 5 minutes of forethought. And now you’ve taken a 3-cent prop and made it a project. If it gets dropped, torn or just dirty from use, you can’t just throw it out and grab another cup unless the prop people have gone to the time and expense of making extras. Which is probably not a huge expense but it does take time away that the prop person could spend doing something arguably more critical. If you want shows to have realistic cup behavior, don’t watch shows with bad endowing. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/33 "2014-11-18T15:24:49Z")
It’s possible to go too far the other way. [Like they did here.](http://youtu.be/3TQQcy_5zsM?t=23m1s) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/34 "2014-11-18T15:34:30Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Any actor will tell you, when there is liquid in the glass, it’s almost always been dicked with by the stage crew. It’s actually Bourbon, or salted water, or some other foul thing or other. > > To such a degree that the actors are only going to pretend to drink due to brutal experience, I suspect. Because it’s easier to pretend to drink than to cover up an actual mouthful of awful! > > But I take your point, it is distracting. My pet peeve is boxes, bags and suitcases which are clearly empty. It’s easily seen because of the way they handle it, etc. > > I mean, how hard would it be to just throw a couple of books in there to give it some heft and make it more visually believable? It’s not like it costs anything more to do. And no one expects them to put 50lbs in or anything! > > Once you notice it, it’s very distracting. When I saw _Sleuth_ on stage during its original Broadway run there was actual liquid in the glasses – you could see it being poured as part of the “stage business”, and the actors drank it. In fact, the fact that there really is clear liquid and ice in a glass becomes an important plot point in the second half of the play (during the “hunt for incriminating objects” portion) I believe there was even a credit for the liquor used in the Playbill. So glasses onstage aren’t invariably empty, and the liquid isn’t always non-potable. I’ve been both an actor and a props man. I know of the pranks of props people, but in a show where actual drinking occurs, I can see potential pranksters being threatened with real penalties if they adulterate the drink. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/35 "2014-11-18T17:48:18Z")
I can understand why you don’t want to put actual coffee in the cups. Coffee can stain, or burn. But what’s so hard about plain ordinary water? ---
**Author:** ![VanLandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/eb9ed0/32.png) [@VanLandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanLandry)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/36 "2014-11-18T18:23:06Z")
It’s even worse when they hold the cup [upside down.](http://fox59.com/2014/10/06/meteorologist-holds-coffee-cup-upside-down/) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/37 "2014-11-18T18:24:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I can understand why you don’t want to put actual coffee in the cups. Coffee can stain, or burn. But what’s so hard about plain ordinary water? On TV, at least, you can _see_ that there’s coffee in the cup. It’s black! Water, you might be able to see, but you would sure as hell know it’s not coffee! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/38 "2014-11-18T18:45:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > On TV, at least, you can _see_ that there’s coffee in the cup. It’s black! > > Water, you might be able to see, but you would sure as hell know it’s not coffee! :eek: These days I notice it the most with paper coffee cups with lids. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/39 "2014-11-18T19:16:37Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > These days I notice it the most with paper coffee cups with lids. Hell, they did the the same shtick in _ **The Untouchables** _ more than 50 years ago. Ness and Co. were always bringing paper cups of coffee to the office with them from the diner up the street! :o ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890/40 "2014-11-18T19:22:19Z")
Luggage. Whenever someone is going on a trip they are carrying an empty suitcase or two and it is blatantly obvious. Don’t they know we can tell? Also… when the pizza guy makes a delivery he hands over an empty pizza box. So obvious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/put-some-liquid-in-the-cup/484890.md?page=3)