see spittoons in some public places in parts of the US as late as the 1930s, vast numbers of old brass spittoons met their ends in the scrap drives of World War II. A large public collection of spittoons can be found at Duke Homestead State Historic Site Durham, North Carolina. In 2008, the site's tobacco museum added 282 spittoons—claimed to be the world's largest collection—to its holdings of over 100. In Chinese society Spittoons have been used in China for a long time; the earliest porcelain spittoon was found in a tomb dating to Emperor Xianzong's reign during the Tang dynasty. During the Qing dynasty and later in Japan, a golden spittoon would be among the numerous objects displayed in front of the emperor at major ceremonies. After China became a Communist state in 1949, the spittoon became much more prevalent: spittoons were placed at every conceivable public place, and were commonplace in homes as well. The mass introduction of spittoons was no doubt a public hygiene initiative, motivated by a desire to curtail the still common Chinese practice of spitting onto the floor. The spittoons used in China were typically made of white porcelain, sometimes with traditional Chinese art painted onto the exterior. Spittoons were used even during official functions by the political leaders of China; especially when Deng Xiaoping had a frequent use of spittoon with other political leaders. This eventually became a source of ridicule by the mass media outside China. As a response, the spittoons have largely been withdrawn from public spaces in China since the late 1980s. In May 2015, the Spittoon Collective came into being, probably the largest English-language literary collectives in China. They publish the Spittoon literary magazine. Latter-day models While spittoons are still made, they are no longer commonly found in public places (except as decorations). There are a few companies that currently make spittoons for users of smokeless tobacco, such as MudJug, Spitbud, and Mud Bud by DC Crafts Nation. Professions in which spittoons are commonly used are coffee, tea and wine tasting. A taster will sip samples and then spit them into a spittoon in order to avoid intoxication. Makeshift spittoons, such as large mixing bowls, can be used by people with a cold who are frequently coughing up phlegm. Spittoons remained in use in the Southern United States in public buildings at least until the 1970s. For example,