5 Of The Wildest Things Starbucks Employees Have Drawn On Cups

Starbucks is an international chain with locations all over the world, but the coffee shop still aims to create a friendly, neighborhood vibe within its stores. The goal is to offer coffee lovers a third place, meaning an area that isn't your work or home where you can relax and unwind. That's part of the reason why Starbucks asks its baristas to write names on customer cups — it fosters a warm, inviting atmosphere where customers are on a first-name basis with employees. In addition to names, Starbucks employees are also encouraged to leave cute messages on drinks.

Despite the company's presumably good intentions, the chain's cup-writing practice often goes awry. We poked around online for the funniest, wildest, and most confounding Starbucks cup names and missives, and we were pretty amused by what we found. Along with hilariously misspelled names, some baristas took the time to draw cartoons or share handwritten versions of their favorite memes. Our list shows that it's okay to laugh at yourself (or your own name), and that many baristas are just trying to brighten your day, as well as their own.

Did you know garlic has its own holiday? National Garlic Day lands on April 19, and one Starbucks barista roped an unassuming customer into celebratory garlic shenanigans. When the patron received their drink, they discovered it was emblazoned with the words "Happy Garlic Day!" (via Facebook). According to the customer, "The baristas at the Starbucks I go to write the most random things on my cups." To prepare you for all future garlic-based celebrations, here are some facts about garlic cloves and how to use them.

Though some claim that Starbucks cup name errors are a covert way to score free advertising, baristas usually default to the most obvious spelling when they don't know exactly how to write a person's name. However, one customer's experience at a Starbucks in Sweden defies explanation. On Reddit, a poster said they told the barista their name was "Christopher with a PH." Instead, they received a cup reading "Phistofer," which goes to show the importance of specificity, both in life and when ordering coffee.

Starbucks workers aren't necessarily fans of writing names and messages on cups, but it's part of the job description. One barista even went the extra mile, according to one Facebook post, and scribbled a faux-empowering message on a customer's drink. The cup read "Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss," much to the recipient's irritation ("It's a really stupid thing to write on a cup," the person explained in a comment). In case you're not extremely online, the phrase is a meme poking fun at toxic ideas related to hustle culture.

This cup comes from a self-described Starbucks barista on Reddit, who replied to a thread titled, "What are you writing on your cups?" The staff member presented a crudely drawn (but mostly accurate) representation of "Family Guy" patriarch Peter Griffin, with a comic-style speech bubble reading, "Erm ... what da fweak?" This doodle seems to be inspired by a "Family Guy" catchphrase made famous by Peter's son Stewie: "What the deuce?"

Perhaps the most famous Starbucks cup mishap, the original customer who requested "Marc with a C" and ended up with "Cark" (courtesy of X) can't be verified. It's possible that the joke was semi-cribbed from the movie "Empire Records," which featured a dimwitted record store staffer debating whether to name his band Mar(c)k with a C or a K. While we don't know who "Cark" is or what they're up to these days, their Starbucks misspelling is the gift that keeps on giving.