The Utah teapot, or the Newell teapot, is a 3D test model that has become a standard reference object and an in-joke within the computer graphics community. It is a mathematical model of an ordinary Melitta-brand teapot that appears solid with a nearly rotationally symmetrical body. Using a teapot model is considered the 3D equivalent of a "Hello, World!" program, a way to create an easy 3D scene with a somewhat complex model acting as the basic geometry for a scene with a light setup. Some programming libraries, such as the OpenGL Utility Toolkit, even have functions dedicated to drawing teapots.
The actual Melitta teapot that Martin Newell modelled, displayed at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California (1990–present)
'Smithfield Utah' public sculpture in Dublin, Ireland
Melitta is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Melitta headquarters in Minden
A Melitta coffee filter, containing ground coffee, in a single cup brewing holder