I was told later by a docent that my reaction was not uncommon. >smile<
Sadly Alan Kay was unable to attend so I didn't get to meet him.
Alpha_1 has a direct lineage from the development of the teapot and was the basis of Featurecam
Incidentally, I've been following the incredible Interactive Graphics course on YouTube by Cem Yuksel (mentioned in TFA for his improved teapot): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVCuWQV_-Es&list=PLplnkTzzqs...
The original Utah teapot(1.4L) is in stock - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31178947 - April 2022 (7 comments)
Why a Computer History Museum Owns a Legendary Teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29259548 - Nov 2021 (1 comment)
Show HN: Teapong – A two-player game for fans of Pong and the Utah teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22137758 - Jan 2020 (12 comments)
Bézier Curves and Surfaces: The Utah Teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19690575 - April 2019 (7 comments)
The Utah Teapot: Most Important Object in Computer Graphics History - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11209690 - March 2016 (52 comments)
Utah Teapot - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7280289 - Feb 2014 (17 comments)
Seems to have been part of a bigger collection:
> The sculpture, titled Smithfield Utah, was created by artist Alan Butler. It was formally unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland. It is the second of six new sculptures being created as part of Dublin City Council’s Sculpture Dublin initiative. The work was inspired by the shape of the Utah Teapot, a ‘virtual’ teapot form designed by mathematician Martin Newell in Utah in 1975. https://www.thejournal.ie/teapot-sculpture-smithfield-square...
Personally, it seems less like "Inspired by the shape of the Utah Teapot" and more something I'd create myself when I was a beginner with 3DS Max 9 back in the day. Most people will just see a normal teapot, a very small selection of niche visitors will recognize it as the Utah Teapot, available as a default object in 3DS Max since forever.
https://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/glut/spec3/node89...
Surprised to see the teapot got another update this year.
Oh, and the 3D pipes screensaver.