Ok,this is a pretty Canadian specific joke. If you’re wondering what’s going on, Tim Horton’s, Canada’s favorite coffee-shop-chain-named-after-a-hockey-star, runs a promotion called “Roll up the Rim to Win”. Basically, there’s some little tiny print under the rolled-under bit on the rim that mostly says, “Please play again/Réessayez vous S.V.P.”, but sometimes says that you’ve won a prize.
Seems a pretty straight forward way to run a promotion – there’s no messy scratch-and-win bits, which would probably melt anyway being so close to the hot coffee, and no little fiddly peel off bits that always get lost anyway.
But here’s the thing. It’s a winter promotion. And it’s damned cold in Canada in the winter. Like, you don’t want to take your gloves off, EVER, kinda cold. So, a common sight in Canada is a bunch of people fiddling around with the little waxy rim of their paper cups, trying to get the damned things to lift up without taking off their gloves.
I always have to resort to using my teeth to rip the rim off completely, usually mangling the text in the process. But that’s ok, because the only thing I’ve ever won is another coffee, and man. After I’ve just torn the neck off of a paper cup, the last thing I need is another coffee…
Kimberly Martin Says:
XD I have a little thing I got from a loonie store called a rim roller, that I keep on my keys.
But I have resorted to the nibble chew method myself
Novalyyn Says:
I’ve gnawed on paper cup rims and pulled them up, but I generally don’t tear them loose. o.O
But y’know what? Based on what little I know of you from this and Weregeek, I would totally hang out with you if I could. XD Of course, I’m sure that’s true of many people, and I’m prolly not the first to say it.
soilent Says:
I do think this News is filed under the wrong comic 🙂
Peter Says:
Hmm, how cold is the Canadian winter? Any why not take the rim off before you exit the store? Of course, if it’s -20 degrees celsius inside the store, I can see your point.
Besides, I don’t want to exit the airport and go “Hmm, maybe I should wear something more then knickers and a t-shirt” the first time I visit Canada.
da Cas Says:
Okay, she won a free “fammich”. but what is a fammich? BTW: The rim roller is a product from Canada, so it seems that the “ftw vs freezing” problem is a problem of the whole population 🙂
Giancarlo Says:
I’m always winning that additional coffee myself then I run back into the store to grab another and the cycle continues…
jw Says:
@Peter It’s usually not a good idea to roll up the rim before you finish your coffee. Timmies cups are leaky enough as it is.
Victoria Says:
Tim Horton’s is expanding into the States, too! I look forward to the day when I can take part (okay, watch– coffee upsets my stomach something awful) in rolling up the rim to win. (P.S. My family is driving to Ontario on Thursday, and I am SO looking forward to Timbits.)
naleta Says:
Tims has been in Michigan for years! My son is the night shift baker at our local Tim Hortons. Our town is small enough that we only have one, lol. Toledo Ohio now has 3 that I know of, maybe even more.
Peter Says:
jw: I’m so confused. What exactly is a rim? I don’t drink coffee and I’m from Denmark, never heard of whateveryoudeviousCanadianswanttoconquertheworldwith 😉
soilent Says:
Peter it’s something like Starbucks with a Backery attached as far as I can tell.
And the Rim is the Ring around Papercups that *should* stabilize the Cup.
king_of_light Says:
Gnarr…waxy prize awaits…LOL.
Keith Says:
The prizes and chances of winning have been getting worse as time went on. It used to be that the chances of you winning something were pretty good. We even got a BBQ. Now it’s hard to win a muffin. =(
Peter Says:
soilent: Ahh that explains it. We have like 3 starbucks in the entire country, all of them in the capital.