On Dec. 31, 2023, the limited edition rose-colored Stanley cups were released in Target, and no one could have ever expected what was to come. 

People were waiting at the doors to rush in the moment they opened, but considering those who were trampled, the fired employees, and the positive tests for lead, the hysteria was simply not worth it. 

Videos surfaced on the internet showing people racing to get their own Stanley cups, several showcasing people getting trampled left and right. Many jumped over counters and onto the items just to get their hands on it. 

With all the effort being put forward, there should be something about the cups that make it all worthwhile. They have a handle, they keep the drinks icy-cold, and come in a variety of appealing colors.

 That’s about it. 

For cups that serve the same function as most other cups, they don’t seem to be worth all the hype, especially after people were fired over them. 

It had been brought to many workers’ attention that Target’s 15-minute rule, which states an item must be on the floor for 15 minutes before being sold to employees, was broken. Dozens were fired, including Catherine Carter, a lady who worked at the store for 19 years and has been starting shifts at 3:30 am for the past two years. 

“She’d never been written up, never called out, never been late,’” said Callum Jones, journalist. 

Even so, Carter’s 19 years of loyalty to the company were put to waste all because she bought one Stanley cup.

These unnecessary firings and unreasonable stampedes had no reason to happen, especially when they were for water bottles made with lead. 

Not long after the Stanley craze, many people who bought the cups started making TikTok videos of them testing the cups for lead, and all of the tests that they used came out positive. 

While the company states the lead is only in pellets sealed off from where the people drink, it still is not a good look, and a cup is just not worth it.