If you want to economize on paper cups, you generally can’t get much cheaper than the time-honored conical paper cup, the staple of office water coolers. The exact price will vary from day to day, but the link below should show the price for 5000 cups, complete with free shipping.

But there is, of course, a problem.  You can’t set down a conical paper cup.  This problem was solved 90 years ago, as shown in the June 1929 issue of Popular Mechanics.  You simply take one of your 5000 cups and clip off the end.  Place it on the table upside down, and it serves as an ideal holder for another cup.  The holder, of course, can be used many times.

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