Is there a point to that, or are they just designed to annoy you?
I know this isn’t any kind of factual answer, but I always thought it was to encourage people to throw them in the trash when they were done, as there’s no convenient way to set it somewhere and leave it.
That’s what I was thinking just as I was typing this question, but it seems like you could just as easily leave it lying around. I guess you could argue that if you left it, it couldn’t have water in it… but so what?
I think that, as with so many other things in life, the answer has to do with money. Conical cups are almost certainly cheaper than cups with flat bottoms.
I dunno, wouldn’t it feel terribly awkward lying a cup on its side? I think a lot of people wouldn’t even consider it, just out of habit. Also, as far as water not being left in them… water can make quite a mess. We have flat bottomed cups at work, and people leave them everywhere, for someone else to accidentally knock over onto floors, creating slipping hazards, and products, causing monetary losses.
But I really am just guessing here.
But we’re talking about mass production here. The marginal price difference even for a whole bag of cups is going to be so negligible that it couldn’t possibly be the real reason… could it?
Yes. It’s on the bottom.
There’s a point to each of them!
The cone shaped design is cheaper to make.
Anyone else remember the plastic mug-like holders for the pointycup?
I’ve nothing of interest to add.
blinks
Wait, you mean a plastic holder that you put a paper cup inside? WHY? Just bring a plastic cup if you want a plastic cup. Perhaps I’m just slow, but I don’t get it.
People the answer is simple.
Cone shaped cups are for business where the boss does not want the employee to take a cup of water back to their work place.
You get a drink of water from the jug, and then get your ass back to work.
And before you ask, yes I have worked at places like this. (construction job sites)
Maybe we’re all right, and the cone shaped paper cup is the most well thought out invention ever designed. 
I thinking they take up less space so you dont have to refill the hopper so often?
Otara
Remember that your average conical cup is not wax coated. It’s about the cheapest possible shape that will reliably hold water for a few minutes. There’s no printing or any other extraneous costs. I suspect that it also somewhat limits water consumption, as the cone of an equivalent cylinder has 1/3 the volume, and people feel uncomfortable in returning to the tap 4 times.
Speaking of comfortable, I suspect the cone shape is less comfortable than a more cylindrical shape to hold for very long, encouraging people to drink and get back to work instead of standing around with a cup in their hands.
I remember those. I think the point was that you could throw out the cup and reuse the holder without having to wash it. The cups were more substantial than the water cooler sort, since they were used for coffee and tea. The holder had a handle, so it turned your conical paperboard cup into a mug sort of deal. Useful for hot drinks before styrofoam.
Ok that makes a little more sense. Thanks for spelling it out for me. I never knew such a thing existed.
Henry Petroski agrees with this. He devotes half a chapter to the paper cup in his book Small Things Considered: Why There is no Perfect Design. He claims that paper cups were developed to be used with water vending machines, and were marketed as being more sanitary than “public” cups made of glass or ceramic or whatever and used by multiple people. So the business model was akin to making razors in order to sell razor blades…which means that the more you can shave off the cost of manufacturing the cups, the more profit you get.
Yep, I remember the thing too. I think it’s so you don’t have to worry about having a dirty cup around.
Actually, I wish the water coolers here had those pointed cups. Most places have little envelopes which you fill with water.
A friend of mine showed me a way that you can take the water back to your desk: tear the tip off of a second cup and turn it upside down. It provides a convenient holder for the water cup and allows you to stick it to the man at the same time.
The man… when will he get tired of all the sticking?