from Dr. Bill [wwh]:

Instead of having two cups of coffee, I
like to have it in a mug, which holds a bit over 2 cups.
It occurred to me to wonder how they got the name.

from online etymology dictionary:
mug (n.1)
"drinking vessel," 1570, "bowl, pot, jug," perhaps from Scand. (cf. Swed. mugg "mug, jug," Norw. mugge "pitcher, open can for warm drinks"), or Low Ger. mokke, mukke "mug."
mug (n.2)
"a person's face," 1708, possibly from mug (n.1), on notion of drinking mugs shaped like grotesque faces. Sense of "portrait or photograph in police records (e.g. mug shot, 1950) had emerged by 1887. Verb sense of "make exaggerated facial expressions" is from 1855, originally theatrical slang.

Here's a link with pictures of Toby mugs. They were
dicussed so long ago, few members are likely to remember.

http://pages.heartofohioantiques.com/
995/InventoryPage/541/1.html

in an other thread, a rather insulting comment was made. i have no intention of posting anything in reply to a general insult. a number of people read the same post, and decided, to for what ever reason, not to comment either.

Dr. Bill [wwh]:

The above comment has been posted in a new thread, apparently in reference to your "mug" thread. I say apparently because I am not aware of any other "mug" thread.

I am not aware of any insult, general or not, in your "mug" post [above], but if there is any such insult hidden there, inadvertently or not, I hope you will tell me as I would certainly not want to be the agent of communicating an unfelt, unjust "insult" to anyone about anyone, even inadvertently.

In fact, I would not want to be the agent of communicating any insult to anyone about anyone, whether the insult is just or unjust. I just don't need the hassle. Nor do you.

Thanks, wwh.

BTW the link you supplied doesn't work. At least, it doesn't work when I click on it.

Sorry for the inconvenience, Dr. Bill.

http://snipurl.com/cgka

I suspect Bill's link didn't work because the page he used is now gone (the site is an antiques mall and I'm sure they get rid of pages when items are sold; this is a generic search for Toby mugs at the site.)

It is interesting, though. I have one that my mother bought because the previous owner said it represented Hamlet. But after looking at these I am not sure if the one I have is a Toby or not.

a friend of mine works in 3D graphics, as well as other media, but here are his Toby's:

http://www.stratacafe.com/image.asp?imageID=11536

Are they holding barbells? Bells?