We see it in examples, tutorials, finished scenes, 3d books, etc.
But where did the teapot primative originally come from?
Two sources say University of Utah.
History of the Teapot
This teapot derives from the original data developed by Martin Newell in 1975. Beginning with a graph-paper sketch of a teapot that he kept on his desk, Newell calculated cubic Bezier splines to create a wireframe model. James Blinn, also at the University of Utah during this period, produced early renderings of exceptional quality using this model. The teapot has since become a classic in computer graphics. Its complexly curved and intersecting surfaces are well suited to testing different kinds of material mappings and rendering settings on a real-world object.
not as interesting as a monkey though…
Martin
Indeed, the monkey is not only a primative, but in fact a primate as well. 
Cool! I didn’t realise The Teapot had such a history.
I thought maybe it was an object that was included as standard in
some commercial 3d app.
I just love how evey field of interest has it’s own “lore”.
