At the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, a rather out-of-place artifact is exhibited. To those unfamiliar, it’s only an ordinary Melitta-brand teapot—but if you know, you know. In the world of computer graphics, this item, usually referred to as the Utah teapot or Newell teapot, is recognized as a 3D test model that has become a standard reference object and a popular in-joke within the community, sometimes making an appearance in movies and TV shows (especially in the 1990s) such as Toy Story and The Simpsons. The original…
