The disposable coffee cup lid is perhaps one of the more underappreciated everyday objects. Besides being the last line of defense between you and 2nd degree burns, the often overlooked lid is the subject of avid collectors and art exhibits. You read that correctly.

Design historian and author, Phil Patton had his personal collection displayed at the Cincinnati Museum of Art in 2007. And in what has been considered the most prolific of collections, architects Louise Harpman and Scott Specht displayed a sample of their lids at Proteus Gowanus in Brooklyn, in 2005.

But it is the Solo Traveler Lid that is apparently the Mona Lisa of coffee cup lids. Besides being a marvel of engineering and design, the easily forgettable lid was displayed at the MoMa in 2004. As part of the “Humble Masterpieces” exhibit, the lid was displayed alongside the paperclip and the Q-tip.

So the next time you have that coffee-to-go, remember that you may have a work of art all up in your face.

[adapted from Edible Geography]