So, you received a photographer’s mug as a present that is cleverly disguised as a camera lens. These are reasonably priced gifts that are a favorite choice among gift-giving friends, family, and co-workers. But what on earth are you gonna do with one of these things? Other than the obvious task of using your gift as, well, a drink container, here are 100 “other” things that you can do with this present.
You could scare your “unaware” friends by pouring liquid out of your camera lens, pouring liquid into your lens, pouring sand into your lens, carelessly dropping your lens, playing catch with your lens, putting a fork “inside” your lens, “accidentally” rolling your lens off of a countertop, scratching your name into your lens, putt a golfball into your lens, and stand on your lens to reach up on top of a shelf.
You could use your camera lens mug for promoting a healthy lifestyle, drinking a nice cool beverage from your mug, sipping a hot drink from your pseudo camera lens, eating pistachios from your lens, using your camera lens as a yogurt container, eating cereal out of your lens, holding your daily vitamins inside the camera lens mug, measuring your baking ingredients, spooning your favorite ice cream flavor treat from the fake lens, and for carrying a hydration drink with you during exercise.
You could help save the world through eco-friendly activities featuring your camera lens mug as an aquarium for a small snail, plant a cactus in your stylized eco-mug, build a terrarium with your camera lens, use it to temporarily hold refuse that you pickup during an outdoor adventure, collect rainwater in your mug for watering your indoor plants, collect fall leaves in your camera lens mug for starting a tree identification book, go on a collection expedition and use your fake camera lens for holding rocks that look like fossils, try to make a crude sundial from your camera lens mug, use your camera lens mug as a composting bin from kitchen leftovers, and when you camera lens mug “wears” out its welcome you can recycle, regift, or donate it to a worthwhile environmentally-thoughtful recipient.
You could get creative with your mug by decoupaging the outside, add some colorful paint to the camera lens, bling the thing with some gems, glitter up the exterior of the lens, decorate the lens barrel with stickers and decals, glue 3D objects around the rim of the mug, paint the lid a different color, tastefully paint your name on the lens, channel your inner Meret Oppenheim with some fur inside the mug, and the camera lens mug IS the art…display it proudly.
You could secure your belongings with your mug by hiding your keys inside it while playing tennis, storing extra film inside, keeping your ID safe and dry while outside, stashing your cash sealed inside the camera lens mug, hide the mug in plain sight among your other lenses, storing extra filters in the mug, converting the mug into a piggybank, using your camera lens mug as a cable-caddy, holding small chargers, and sneakily make the lens mug into your jewelry box.
You could take your camera lens mug on vacation for enjoying some fun at the beach, by shielding your sunscreen inside the mug, transferring a slushy snow cone into the camera lens mug, ensuring your sunglasses are close at hand, burying your wallet inside the mug in the sand, using the mug as a mold for building sand castle towers, keeping your snack dry, freezing water in the mug for making all-day ice, collecting small invertebrates for closer study (please release your creatures after examination), holding empty shells that you discover on the beach, and bringing a beach sand sample home as a keepsake.
You could do some fun tricks with your camera lens mug like putting a coin in it and shaking it saying, “I think something’s loose inside,” filling it with water then pouring it out saying you just filmed a rainstorm, adding a piece of random glass inside then pulling it out exclaiming, “now it’s a macro lens,” calling the lid a new ‘ND 20,000’ filter, asking your assistant to remove the rear lens cap because it’s stuck, asking your assistant to fix the zoom ring because it’s stuck, asking your assistant to loosen the focus ring because it’s stuck, asking your assistant to check the lens image stabilizer because your photographs are blurry, showing the inside of the camera lens mug claiming that it’s the first glass-less lens, and asking a passerby on the street to help you look for your missing aperture blades.
You could use your camera lens mug as a prop by lending it to a local school theatrical production that needs some camera equipment, embellishing your interior decor, making your photography bag look more populated, helping a child act like a professional photographer, using it as a gauge for judging how much space a new lens will require, using your camera lens mug as a stand-in for adjusting your lighting, evaluating the risks of an outdoor site before using your real camera and lens, checking different backgrounds for color compatibility with a dark object, testing a new instant film setup, and adding photographic equipment to a high-threat display.
You could use your mug for exercise by doing lens curl reps, rolling out your muscles after a tough run, acting as a roller for floor exercises, strengthening your arms while running/walking, attaching to your legs for leg lifts, standing on one foot while balancing on top of the mug, tossing it up in the air and catching it, using the mug for a Pilates workout, easing back/neck pain, and converting your camera lens mug into a rocker/balance board.
Finally, you could use your camera lens mug as a gift/re-gift by giving it back to the person who gave it to you, packaging it back up and giving it to a photographer friend, giving it to a family member who has been asking questions about it, dropping it off at a Christmas present donation box, donating it to a local charitable organization, using the cloth bag that comes with the mug as gift wrap, recycling the mug, adding it to a local disaster relief collection box, offering it to a less-fortunate person on the street, and trying to trade in your camera lens mug for a real lens at a retail store.
Now that you’ve seen the versatility embodied in one camera lens mug, maybe you should buy two!
Enjoy.
