Math coffee mugs pop up a lot in our book, We Didn't Learn Math This Way! It was one fun icon that I came up with to fill in some of the pages that had too much empty space at the bottom. I spent some time doing research on the interwebs to see what designs were already out there and I thought I'd share the mugs I loved the most.
So here is a countdown of my favorite funny math coffee mugs to make you giggle, and one bonus funny mug from another awesome discipline that I could not resist sharing!
#7. "Sometimes I go off on a Tangent"
Obviously a math pun that directly incorporates a math concept AND a commonplace saying is the height of math humor. I had a friend in high school who would digress in the middle of even the simplest story. Then when she realized that she was yet again in the no man's land of conversation she would say, "Oops, I just went off on a tangent." Funnily enough, I sat behind her in math class for many years and she helped me understand what tangents were!
#6. "Avoid Negativity"
With all the bureacracy, kid wrangling and classroom upkeep teachers have to manage, I have to think that this message is especially pertinent. As a parent, I love to come up with nice ways to make my children's teachers feel loved, appreciated and pampered. Flowers and requested classroom gifts (white board markers, picture books, construction paper, etc) are usually warmly received. I'd love to do a poll of teachers and find out how many like to receive coffee mugs, or have too many already!
#5. "It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Divides by Zero"
So, like many math novices I had no idea how complicated and special the concept of zero is until I started spending time with Peggy, one of our writers on We Didn't Learn Math This Way! Zero is this insane idea that didn't crop up until humans were pretty far along in our math game, relatively speaking. So I love zero jokes becuase they require a little bit of insider knowledge.
And honestly, the concept of dividing by zero is a bit of a brain melter!
#4. "Not All Math Puns are Terrible, Just Sum."
You know what, I'm getting into my minimalist phase of life and i like how simple this one is. It's a clean, classic math pun. And I just like it!
#3. "I'm aCUTE math teacher"
I mean, what's not to love about this? I'm not even a math teacher and I kind of want one to remind me of my value every morning.
BAM! "Value"... get it? Math pun upon math pun! I'm here all day folks.
#2. "Math: The Only Place Where People Can Buy 60 Watermelons and No One Wonders Why."
Yes!!! I have lost count of how many times I have heard variations on this joke from actual math students, curriculum writers and teachers. Over the course of illustrating We Didn't Learn Math This Way! and designing my own funny math coffee mugs, I poked a lot of people in my life about how math is being taught today and their feelings on it. By a country mile the most common response was something like, "Do I need to know how far Tony walked to pick up some eggs?"
Our writers, Tricia and Peggy, have been creating math curriculum for years. Both have shared with me how difficult, awkward and funny it is trying to come up with the content for all those darned story problems. This mug hits that sentiment on the head and I love it!
#1. "What Part of [BLARG] Don't You Understand?"
As the official Confused Parent of the What The Math?! team, I identify with this mug. If it takes a coffee mug to make me feel understood then by golly I'll take it! I'm very curious to know how many other parents of kindergarteners through fifth graders are out there who feel similarly perplexed. If so, we have a book for you!
#BONUS Surprise. "Cell-Fie"
Okay, InkPopCo on Esty is seriously delivering on the humorous coffee mug front. I could not resist including this adorable and hilarious science beverage holder! And we all know how much science lovers of all stripes enjoy a bit of quarky- i mean quirky- humor.
I hope you enjoyed checking out these funny math coffee mugs as much as I enjoyed finding them for you!
To see all the coffee mugs I illustrated and to learn everything you need to know about how math is being taught in K-5 classrooms today, check out our book, We Didn’t Learn Math This Way! A K-5 Guide for the Confused Adult, available on the Singapore Math website. Here’s a snap of me showing off a copy:
This book, created by a team of highly skilled and experienced educators and math curriculum publishers, is the best resource to decode how math is being taught today.
So, pour a cozy cup of warm beverage into your favorite coffee mug, pull up a chair, and crack open your copy of We Don’t Learn Math This Way!
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