Starbucks Is Hilariously Blaming Mercury Retrograde For Coffee Spills

Mercury retrograde cops the blame for plenty of things in life. The guilty planet appears to travel backward in space three or four times throughout the year and in some circles, this signifies bad news. The astrological event is meant to cause havoc in our personal lives because the planet supposedly rules our communication such as "thought processes, ideas, and sensory information" (via Cafe Astrology) so when it goes into retrograde, all these areas are meant to cause issues for us.

Apparently, this extends to mechanics and electronics as well. Astrologers will inform you that you shouldn't buy anything expensive during the event because things like cars or computers may have a "glitch". If your car breaks down, it may not be simply because you forgot to put oil in it — it's mercury retrograde. Tarot says "don't sign contracts, make verbal agreements or life-altering decisions" during this time because you'll "likely find that a series of events or misunderstandings cause the initial pact to change or fall apart." 

While the planet isn't actually going backward, it does appear to be, and this is because of the "relative positions of the planet and Earth and how they are moving around the Sun," per Starchild NASA.

Starbucks took the fact that so many people like to blame the planet for mishaps as an opportunity for a fun coffee-related Instagram post shortly after the astrological event was meant to finish on January 18. 

In an Instagram post on January 18, Starbucks posted "You can still blame Mercury retrograde if you spill your coffee. We won't tell anyone." The post has over 23k likes and received some fun comments.

One person said, "Since it's Mercury's fault, how about a free fresh one?" Others took the astrological event more seriously, saying, "This coffee drinking moon child is so glad it's going bye bye!"

Another said, "Still in the shadow. Still fair game." Some customers took the coffee chain at their word saying, "Is that why I spilled my chai today...that never happens."

Someone else claimed, "I'll never spill Caffè Misto, even if Earth's in retrograde," referring to the Starbucks drink that is modeled on the French café au lait which is a cup of half-brewed coffee and half-steamed milk. 

Several commenters took to the Starbucks post to blame ill-fitting lids for coffee spills, ignoring the tongue-in-cheek Mercury retrograde comment. Whatever or whoever is to blame for coffee spills, we can all agree that coffee wastage is never a pleasant event for the wallet or the psyche.