The age-old question is not about the tree falling in the forest, or if the chicken or egg came first.

No, everybody, the most important question which demands your attention and deepest thought is this: Is a glass a cup?

Yes, this is a silly question on the face of it, but it is one that sparked fierce debate between my friends, family and myself.

I hold that a glass is indeed a cup, and if you disagree, you are wrong (just kidding).

The arguments against my stance say that glasses are on their own level of drinkware, separate from the not-as-fancy things like mugs or ‘cups.’

While I agree that glasses are definitely more normally used for fancier occasions than the casual glass of water, that is about the only difference I see between glasses and other ‘cups.’

Glasses are called such because of the material they are made of.

Fair enough, but let me pose this question to you all: We do not call tin cups ‘tins,’ and we do not call plastic cups ‘plastics.’

So why do glasses bear such a stark difference when to comes to the classification of the type of drink ware they are?

I do not buy that whole ‘glasses are fancier’ thing because that does not make sense.

Suits are definitely more fancy than a tucked-in polo shirt and cargo shorts, but we do not say suits are their own level of clothing such that they are not considered clothing anymore.

The details of the story as to why this debate, which is unnecessarily a focus for me to prove to others still two years later, are long and at this point forgotten.

But I will be damned if I ever let someone tell me that glasses are not cups.

My definition of cups is anything that is designated to be drank from, excluding bottles. It is an admittedly primitive and boring definition, but that encompasses anything that should be considered a cup.

Coffee mugs?

Cups.

The Holy Grail?

Still a cup.

Your fancy, high-end wine glass that is only used for fancy dinner parties with special company?

Yes, it is still a cup.

Names can try to make something stand out from the crowd or sound more unique or special than others, but they will not fool me.

Louisiana is different from Illinois, but they are both still states.

Sandals may be open-toed, but they are still essentially shoes.

If anything, I will let glasses be their own subcategory of cups, like coffee mugs.

Just remember: Not all cups are glasses, but all glasses are most definitely cups.

Dillan Schorfheide is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at dtschorfheide@eiu.edu