Today it's quite hard to find someone who hasn't seen the Newell teapot at some point. Although most people don't know its name or origin, this 3D object is one of the most famous in the world, and it's considered the equivalent of the “Hello World” program used in programming languages. It's part of the repertoire of every design program and appears in Pixar movies or in episodes of The Simpsons. But what is the story behind this object?
The inclusion of such an unusual object as a teapot in scenes from movies like Toy Story, in episodes of the most famous animated cartoon in history (we're talking about the Halloween special of The Simpsons in which Homer travels to a 3D world), in video games, or even as part of the menus or tools of almost every 3D design program doesn't seem to have a reasonable explanation. However, there's a reason for all of this: it's a heartfelt homage to the work of its creator, mathematician Martin Newell. This model, known as the “Newell teapot” or the “Utah teapot”, has a long history that began more than 30 years ago.
A Fortuitous Tea Break
In 1975, Newell was working at the University of Utah. At that time, the foundations of what would later become a true industry were being laid: computer-generated three-dimensional graphics. As part of his research in this field, Martin Newell needed an object to use as a reference. That object had to be simple — the computers of 1975 weren't exactly known for their enormous power — but versatile enough to be useful in his work.
One afternoon, while having tea with his wife, he mentioned some news related to his work. During the conversation, this topic came up, and Mrs. Newell suggested that he use the teapot that was on the table as a model. It was a very good idea, because despite its apparent complexity, only a few curves are needed to define that object. Martin immediately began drawing on graph paper what would later become the most famous 3D object in history.
Obviously, at that time there were no peripherals like 3D scanners or anything similar, so Newell had to roll up his sleeves and enter into his computer, one by one, the coordinates of each control point of all the Bezier curves that defined the teapot. One of the advantages of this object was that it had self-reflecting surfaces, meaning some parts of the teapot (like its spout or handle) reflected onto others. This would be useful for his research.
The Technology of Its Time
Martin worked with what was called a “storage tube” (storage tube), an ancient class of cathode ray tube monitor that, unlike the scanning CRTs of the time, worked in a vector fashion. In effect, the image wasn't formed by “sweeping” the screen with an electron beam, but rather it worked more or less like an old oscilloscope with memory. An electron beam drew vectors, which remained visible thanks to the “memory” of the screen's phosphor. This type of device didn't need to be “refreshed” dozens of times per second, something very useful at a time when video interface bandwidths were ridiculously small.
An Enduring Legacy
The model proved so suitable that Martin's colleagues quickly began using it in their work. As new programs for creating and editing 3D graphics were developed, programmers included this object because it was widely known in the computer graphics design community. Moreover, it was used to create scenes to test the “skills” and realism of each new software.
Today, even though members of the new generations of graphic designers often don't know its origin, this teapot continues to be used as part of many works. If we had to choose an icon to represent “the world of 3D”, surely many of us would vote for the Newell teapot. Did you know it?
More information is available on the Newell teapot page.
