Hiatus - Vacation - Time off for Good Behavior...

Generic Mug - Not owned

Just to let you regular readers know, I am in a bit of a hiatus.  I have listed all magic mugs in my collection and you can see them all using the links at the right.  I am also in the middle of a state-to-state move and may not have any new mugs until I can again get out and visit the thrift stores.  Enjoy what's here, and stop back regularly. 

Buddha Tea Cup

This is perhaps the most incredible mug in the collection.  First, you'll notice that it has no handle, as it is from China and is made for tea. Second, of course you'll see that it is covered with colorful Chinese characters on dark background which wraps nearly entirely around the mug.

The letters are Buddhist scripture, a Chinese translation of a verse from the Avatamsaka Sutra in two parts. More precisely: The first part is excerpted from a praise in the Avatamsaka Sutra in the second chapter, 如來現相品 The Chapter on the Manifested Marks of the Tathagatha."The Buddha's [dharma-]body pervades the Dharma Realms (universe), universally appearing before all living beings; it accords with their conditions and emotions without limit, and perpetually resides in this Throne of Enlightenment (Bodhi)" The second part is an unrelated but fairly well-known quote from the Treatise on the Great Wisdom. 天上天下無如佛，十方世界亦無比；世間所有我盡見，一切無有如佛者 "Above and below the heavens there is no one like the Buddha, he is also incomparable throughout the ten directions; of all that I have ever seen in the world, there is nothing at all like the Buddha." **

Along with those beautiful words, is the magic mug effects.  When hot liquid is added to the mug, the dark background clears to reveal a portrait of Buddha with two attending monks.  The 'colors' of the letters are actually the colors of the painting behind them.  I am unsure of the history of this mug, but can only guess that it was a retail purchase for followers of Buddha for daily tea and meditations/prayer produced sometime around the 1980's to 90's from the type of ink used.

This mug is, unfortunately, in sad shape. Some of the dark thermo-ink has chipped off, and there appears to be a slow leak (which I discovered when creating the photos above.)  The magic ink still works near perfectly, however, making this a special mug in the collection. 

DESIGN:  Full, 3 Sided Wrap Around Design
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Retail

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** Special Thanks to Reddit Translator kungming2 for the beautiful translations!  I have owned this mug for many years and have never found anyone who could translate it so accurately and so quickly.

I LOVE EXERCISE

This mug is one of the few that is a retail purchase (that is, not promotional give-away.)  The mug has a full wrap around design of a pink and blue checkerboard and on the left side is "I love exercise" above a drawing of a set of exercise weights.

When hot liquid is added to the mug, the set of weights clears....well, it's supposed to clear.  The pic above shows the mug full of hot water, and the weights are only slightly less opaque.  If you look close, you can see the other design, a set of glasses, through which you can see a man's form working out with weights.  Below the glasses it says "I can watch it all day!"

Though the mug is in great condition, this is one of the very few mugs that does not change well.  Most others usually have UV or Microwave damage and show a light brown semi opaque covering. This mug shows the colors correctly, but the color change just doesn't happen properly.  

A retail type mug, it's still a great addition to my collection.

DESIGN:  1+ Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Retail

Fortune Mug #2

This mug is the second one of two which my lovely wife found while shopping just the other day!  The insides of the mug and the handle are white, as they are not covered with the magic ink.

The mug appears totally black and the ink covers all three sides, giving us the impression of a wrap around design.  

When hot liquid is added, the entire black area clears to reveal the same design on both left and right sides.  Revealed is an ornate Victorian frame in which you see a poetic 'fortune.'

A kind word
said
A good deed
made
Will always
see you
Three times paid

This is a great, brand new mug.  The color change is perfect! The design is also a great use of the Magic Ink, too!  Not only that but it comes with its own special box, pictured here:

And Finally, also worth mentioning is that on the bottom of the mug it says CLEARLY that you should only HAND wash the mug and Do Not Microwave.  Nice to see this actually printed on the mug itself.

DESIGN:  2+ Sided

THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color

TYPE: Retail

Fortune Mug #1

This mug is one of two which my lovely wife found while shopping just the other day!   The insides of the mug and the handle are white, as they are not covered with the magic ink.  This mug is also a shaped mug, with non-straight sides.  Very unusual in a Magic Mug!

The mug appears totally black and the ink covers all three sides, giving us the impression of a wrap around design.  

When hot liquid is added, the entire black area clears to reveal the same design on both left and right sides.  Revealed is an ornate victorian frame in which you see a poetic 'fortune.'

No Clouds in

the forecast

No need to

beware

The future is certain

Your fortune is fair

This is a great, brand new mug.  the color change is perfect! The design is also a great use of the Magic Ink, too!  Not only that but it comes with its own special box, pictured here:

And Finally, also worth mentioning is that on the bottom of the mug it says CLEARLY that you should only HAND wash the mug and Do Not Microwave.  Nice to see this actually printed on the mug itself.

DESIGN:  2+ Sided

THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color

TYPE: Retail

Kroger Dairy Products

This is a great old mug from Kroger (the grocery chain!)  On the left side of the mug is a drawing of an old 'rabbit ears' type TV with a black screen and a thought bubble which says "Moooove over to Kroger Dairy Products" in red.

On the right side of the mug is the back of the TV.

When hot liquid is added to the mug, the black screen clears to show a couple of cartoon cows enjoying Kroger Dairy products!

The color change is only about half, but you can see the cartoon cows good enough and I love the entire design.

DESIGN:  1+ Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Promotional

Ortho Orthene Paraquat Plus

This week's mug is from Ortho and promotes Orthene, a weed killer by Ortho products.  On the right side of the mug is a drawing of a plant (which I can't/won't identify) above which it says "Pesty Eleven" in a big oval and below it says "ORTHENE GETS 'EM!"  Beside the weed drawing is an oddly shaped dark area.  On the left side of the mug is the same plant, along with another in a different color.  At the top is "ORTHO PARAQUAT/PLUS" and below it says "The Fast-Action Contact Herbicide."

When hot liquid is added to the mug, the area on the right side clears to reveal a list of bugs that the Herbicide also kills on contact. On the right side of the mug, the oddly colored plant disappears and the first plant stays the same.  

The color change is only about half way, but the mug is in great condition.  A good use of the magic ink in advertising as well.  

DESIGN:  2 Sided

THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color

TYPE: Promotional

Ventolin Medicine

Today's mug is for Ventolin medicine. Ventolin is an inhalant for Asthma sufferers.  On the left side of the mug is the name Ventolin above (Albuterol/Glaxo.) Albuterol is the generic name and Glaxo is in referenceto GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. In the center of the mug is a red wavy design and on this you see two odd shaped dark areas. 

when hot liquid is added, the odd shaped areas clear to reveal a pair of normal lungs and a listing of Rx information.  The color change is good and the mug is in excellent condition. 

DESIGN:  1 Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Promotional

Magic of the Holidays 1992

This week's mug is a bit of a puzzle.  It's a great mug, in great condition, but I have no idea where it is from. On the left side of the mug is a modern looking building beneath a dark blue sky.  There is no sign or indication of what or where this might be.  The right side of the mug is blank.

When hot liquid is added, the dark blue sky clears to reveal the phrase "The Magic of the Holidays 1992" and nothing more.  I'm sure that those who worked in the building would recognize it right away, but without the name, I have nothing to go on.  So, if you do recognize this ediface and know where it is from, please drop me a line at marvinator2003@yahoo.com.  I'm anxious to hear from you!

This is a terrific mug with a full color change. One of those great additions to the collection and a mystery to boot!

DESIGN:  1 Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Promotional

Capoten Tablets

 This week's mug is another Prescription or medical advertisement. On the left side of the mug is a large dark rectangle. Above the rectangle is "Directional Effects of Hypertension and Anti-hypertensive Therapy on Insulin Resistance (Adapted from several studies)' in bold red letters.  Below the rectangle is more information on those studies.)

 On the right side of the mug is the name 'CAPOTEN (captopril tablets) in red with dosage information above and below.

When hot liquid is added to the mug, the rectangle clears to reveal information about the medical studies.  This is a great example of the medical type mug, with information that a Doctor can keep in front of them for reference when prescribing a new medicine such as Capoten.

The mug is in excellent shape, and the color change is excellent.

DESIGN:  1+ Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Medical Promotional

DOBUTREX 10th Anniversary

This week's mug is from the heart medicine Dobutrex and Dobutamine HQ. Dobutamine is used for short term treatment of patients with cardiac decompensation. The mug was issued for the 10th Anniversary of the introduction of the drug in the 1970s.   On the right side of the mug is a red rectangle, with the names of the drugs and the 10th Anniversary in bold white letters.  

On the left side of the mug is a large odd shaped 'logo' of sorts.

When hot liquid is added to the mug, the odd logo clears to reveal a striped area with the names again in white.  The color change is fair, as the mug appears to have some uv/microwave damage.  You can see in the center photo that the background is visible through the magic ink, and only becomes clearer when hot. 

Other than the above, the mug is in good shape over all.  A great addition to the collection. 

DESIGN:  1+ Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Promotional

Rainbow Cats

It's getting harder to find the old style Magic Mugs.  This week's mug comes right from the thrift store and is the newer style of magic mug.  You can identify these (usually) by the fact that the outside of them mug appears black and the inside is white.  Careful scrutiny can show you a pattern or warming it by rubbing it with your thumb to warm it may give you a bit more pattern, as I happened to find today.  

Once hot liquid is added to these style magic mugs, the entire mug will seem to clear, even the handle, to reveal the picture beneath - in this case a pair of beautiful cats drawn in rainbow colors on a black background. .  The mug is brand new and even had its original bar code on the bottom.  (I wonder if they were received as a gift, but never used so the cats were never seen.)

A bit of an oddity with this mug, as the pictures of the cats didn't wrap all the way around the mug and when heated, the white space at the handle becomes visible.  Still a wonderful addition to my collection! 

DESIGN:   Full Mug Color Change.
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Retail

NAPA Auto Parts

This week's mug is from NAPA Auto Parts.  On the left side of the mug is a dark area in the shape of the contiguous United States.  Above this is the NAPA Logo.

On the right side of the mug is the NAPA logo again, and the line "All the right parts in all the right places."

When hot liquid is added to the mug, the outline clears to reveal the words "LET'S GET VISIBLE."  This mug is from an internal campaign for stores to get more business and be known more in the market place.

The mug is in good condition, but the color change is only about 80%, and muddy, but still works to show off the magic ink effects.

DESIGN:  1+ Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Promotional

Link America

This mug is from a company called "Link America."  On the right side of the mug is a red white and blue logo using the capital A in America to also form the L in Link.

 On the left side of the mug is a dark blue outline of the United States.

When hot liquid is added to the mug, the dark area clears to reveal an outline of the USA inside of which is the phrase "We Link America to the World."  (Note that Link America is in italics to remind you of the company name.

Link America is a telecommunications company out of Texas and they are still around today, and their Logo is still red, white and blue.

DESIGN:  1+ Sided
THERMOCHROMIC: 1 Color
TYPE: Promotional