It took me a while to figure out how the teapot worked. The hole in the bottom must connect only to a tube running through the handle. With the teapot upside down it could be filled with no escape from the spout. When turned back up again, tea could not escape from hole in the bottom, because the handle tube is arched high enough that tea could not re-enter it. I suspect though that it might have been tricky to prevent spill in the filling process when first turned upright again. And the traditional tea ritual would not have been possible.