Home of the Jug

A Jug's Story

In the Beginning

In Fall 2023, I noticed a jug sitting in a precarious spot on the highway. It had an orange cap and a muted orange body, but by nature of its location I couldn’t get a good look at it. It was apple season, so I thought that somebody had bought a big jug of apple cider only for it to fly out the back of their truck. That thought made me a little sad. Imagine being sooo excited to drink your special apple cider and then you get home to discover your beloved juice was raptured by the cider angels. I, for one, would be devastated.

It's okay though because whatever is in there is NOT apple cider.

Jug Evangelism

To Friends

The first person I told about the Jug was my friend, Tessa.

At the time, I was unsure whether there was juice or pee inside of the Jug. I told her that it had been sitting on the side of the road for over a month and what I thought might be in it. I couldn't stop thinking about it. That poor juice/pee. So, while driving past it with her in the passenger seat, I told her to look for it and tell me what she thought. Thankfully she's cool and she gets it.

When I saw the jug I just remember thinking… man if that jug is full of wazz, that's gotta be some good wine by now.
-Tessa Cohlan

To Not Friends

I only told one person. Not very evangelical of me, is it? As much as I'd love to stand out on the street corner handing Jug flyers, that's pretty inefficient and everyone would probably call me names behind my back. I'd be the weird jug guy.

A project

Faced with this problem, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime: an academic excuse to make a public Jug Statement. A jug-laration. A jug-nouncement.

I'm a graphic design student (not a web design student— I'm struggling here) and was instructed to make a sign that "subverts expectations."" That's a sign which is integrated with its environment but contains a message one wouldn't expect.

Students might create a school flyer, a street sign, or an informational sign at a park. What was important is that it subverted expectations in some way, which was open for broad interpretation by students. Here's an example:

Ideation and Execution

I decided to dedicate my sign to my precious jug. Submitting a proposal to make a sign for "Random Highway 49 Jug that I think contains apple juice" to a professor with a Master's degree is a great way to make yourself feel silly. And I did feel silly. Thankfully, he's cool and he gets it.

I designed, printed, and placed my sign along the highway. This is the sign:

Placed alongside the road, the utilitarian design is meant to be quickly readable from a distance. My goal was to put some nonsense out into the world, but also to get people aware of their surroundings— to inspire amusement with the unremarkable.

The Aftermath

Disaster.

Some freak picked up the jug and put next to my sign.

My intentionally vague message had come back to bite me. This person is cool for interacting with my sign, but evidently they did not get it. The fun thing about the jug for me was that it was in an inaccessible location but visible to everybody, everyday. Is the Era of Jug over?

It's Actually Fine, Calm Down

This was an opportunity to do something new. Everybody say "thank you, freak!"

If the Jug couldn't stay in that one place, maybe it could be somewhere new for someone else to find. Not as litter, but as a monument to the joy it brought me.

Plus, because someone moved the Jug, I could finally get a close look at it. Here's the info I was able to gather:

• The Jug is labeled for aleuritic acid, so it's definitely not juice
• There's a little bit of liquid inside of the Jug.

The Search

The Jug may or may not be out there waiting for you. It may or may not have been moved from the location I may or may not have placed it. It may or may not have a QR code taped on it that links to this very website. You may or may not have already scanned a shady QR code and found your way here. Much to think about, yes?