Obvious Innovation Arrives in the Starbucks Splash Stick

Dude, apparently Starbucks Splash Sticks have been available for almost two years now. Which begs the question of how have I been so dim on my semi-regular Starbucks visits to miss these simple, helpful little devices.

I routinely put my coffee lid through a torturous road test including one-handing 1) my squirrely 11 pound dog Woodstock on leash; 2) pastry; and 3) coffee while I walk. (You may have already guessed that the other hand is busy with the task of poo bag, public sidewalk dog feces retrieval and disposal.) This ambitious task list usually conspires on several occasions to scald the multi-tasking hand with several splashes of hot coffee.

What you see above are the actual results of this morning's iteration of my combined coffee-run/urban dog walk. And that, my friends, is a fine, fine outcome considering the amount of erratic jostling Woodstock (who walks on a leash like a rainbow trout hooked on 2 pound test line) put that hand through.

Without the Splash Stick, I'd have horrible horrible burns. With the Splash Stick, there are a few small puddles, most of which came through the air-vent perforation above the sipping hole, and no burn-salve required today.