Plastic Cups and glass Mugs

[manicotti]

Studies have found that dropping a glass mug onto a hard surface can result in breakage. Flaubertalioni argues that the chance of breakage is considerably less when the glass mug is dropped from no higher than 5 feet onto a spongier surface such as carpet or astroturf.

In fact, it has been postulated that even a wood floor can minimize the breakage rate as compared to breakage on concrete. "A glass dropped on a concrete floor is more likely to break than if it was dropped on a wood floor because the concrete has no bend to it. A wood floor might help absorb some of the impact by bending slightly when the glass hit it."

http://www.answers.com/Q/A_glass_dro...it_is_wood_why

While glass mugs are more pleasant to hold than plastic cups, and may even hinder the melting of ice cubes, many experts recommend plastic cups to those who find breakage to be a contributing factor to more taxing responsibilities like clean-up and disposal.