The listening device theory sounds very likely. A less likely one could be there were two devices, one in mug holder the other in lamp, that activate as some sort of weapon when placed near each other.
I think that is a real possibility, definitely worth looking into if we had some means to do so.
That’s one of the many things I love about FReeQs! One of us can throw out a hunch or a half-baked idea, and others can expand on it or fill in blanks. We might not be right about everything, but together we come up with some very interesting ideas. I hope Trump/Q tells us which ones are right. Soon!