‘Cause for celebration’
The giant replica of the popular Pyrex measuring cup made its debut March 8 at the International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago to kick off the 100th anniversary of the brand produced in Charleroi.
From left, Kris Malkoski, North American president of World Kitchen, and Mike Scheffki, Pyrex brand lead, pose with Philip Robertson, Guinness World Record adjudicator, in front of the World’s Largest Measuring Cup, created to celebrate the Pyrex 100th anniversary at the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago recently.
CHARLEROI – A giant replica of the clear Pyrex measuring cup that can be found in homes across the nation will make an appearance next month in Charleroi to help celebrate the popular glassware’s 100th anniversary.
The 3,040-cup plastic version created to kick off the birthday of Pyrex, which has been produced in Charleroi for nearly five decades, first by Corning and now by World Kitchen, will arrive in the borough May 16.
“Turning 100 is cause for celebration, and we wanted to do something big to honor this iconic brand,” World Kitchen President Kris Malkoski stated in a news release.
Charleroi Borough Manager Donn Henderson said the cup, which is on the Guinness World Records list because of its size, will be the centerpiece of a Pyrex birthday festival on Fifth Street, between McKean and Fallowfield avenues.
“It’s going to travel around the country and they are going to give it to us in the end,” Henderson said.
He said the borough has yet to decide where it will display the big cup in town after the celebration.
The product lines’ casserole dishes and measuring cups can be found in more than 80 million kitchens in the United States.
The brand was launched after a Corning scientist’s wife, Bessie Littleton, asked him to bring home some heat-resistant glass to replace her broken casserole dish.
He gave her sawed-off bottoms of battery jars, which she used to bake a “delicious cake,” World Kitchen stated in a news release.
The oversized cup will make a number of unannounced stops at locations around the country as part of the anniversary.
It stands 4 feet tall and weighs 65 pounds.
The original measuring cup from 1925 had two spouts for both right- and left-handed pouring and it sold for 50 cents. It has since undergone a few minor redesigns and retains the red Pyrex logo and red marking lines to make it easy to read.