1.6 million people have watched this woman drink a cup of coffee — because it’s weird
A 31-second video of a woman drinking a cup of coffee has gotten an amazing 1.6 million views on Facebook over five days, and its popularity is showing no signs of slowing down.
It has also racked up more than 4,000 reactions and comments.
Why all the fuss?
The coffee drinker is Samantha Cristoforetti, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, and liquid of any kind takes on a life of its own in space.
The video, posted Oct. 1 on Facebook and YouTube, is a presentation on what astronauts have to do in an environment where liquid does not pour or spill. It just floats.
Cristoforetti, who is Italian, demonstrates the challenge by attempting to drink coffee from a jar, and reveals it just sticks to the bottom — even when the jar is turned upside down.
That leaves astronauts with two alternatives: Sucking their Kona from a bag, or using something astronauts call a space cup.
“It has a special shape. This angle makes the coffee flow to the edge per capillary action,” the video shows.
These space cups, also known as the Capillary Cup, resemble a creamer, with a small spout that channels liquid into a narrow stream.
The cups were invented by an astronaut on the space station and count as “the first patented product invented in orbit,” according to the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Among the 700-plus comments posted on Cristoforetti’s video were many wondering what it’s like to drink while in “a constant state of free fall.” Others questioned whether coffee on a space station still counted as drinkable.
“Probably 100% aroma and caffeine,” Mark Devlin wrote on Facebook.
“Thin coffee ... but better than no coffee,” Heidi Maria Schlünsen posted.
“It’ll have to do until they finally open a Starbucks in low-earth orbit,” Luke Rezin joked.
“Where can I find and buy that cup?” Alexander V. Krikelis asked.
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 2:33 PM with the headline "1.6 million people have watched this woman drink a cup of coffee — because it’s weird."