Scientists have found what they believe is the optimal way to hold your coffee cup to minimize risk of spillage.
(Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The handle on your coffee mug? Forget about it. Science has just concluded that you've been holding your coffee mug wrong.

Researchers in South Korea took on the important task of figuring out how to drink coffee right, and it apparently involved trials such as drinking coffee out of a wine glass, walking backwards with the coffee, or adding foam to the brew, The Telegraph reports. But in fact the best way to hold coffee if you don't want to spill it all over yourself (and who hasn't been there?) is to hold the cup from the top with your fingers, the so-called "claw grip":

When holding the cup from the side instead, the coffee actually ends up hitting the sides of the mug with more force, increasing the chances of your $6 pour-over going all over your shirt. (Here is the actual science, equations and all).

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But wait, rewind, how did the results of the walking backwards experiments go? "A few trials will soon reveal that walking backwards drastically increases the chance of tripping on a stone or crashing into a passing colleague who may also be walking backwards. This would most definitely lead to spillage," the researchers said.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.