TABOR, S.D. (AP) 鈥� It鈥檚 red. It鈥檚 soft plastic. And it probably contains your favorite beverage.
The red Solo cup belongs on any list of the country鈥檚 most distinctly American objects, but it鈥檚 actually more than a single object. It is a symbol of the American psyche 鈥� a country that loves a good party, summertime barbecues, kegged beer, tailgating and above all, friendship and community.
The red Solo cup is the receptacle for each of these proud traditions. It also serves as a foundation for beer pong and functions as a vessel for contraband public drinks. It works as a spittoon and a reusable household cup that survives countless top-rack cycles through the dishwasher. Sharpie name inscriptions are its universal language, along with condensation formed by an ice-cold drink.
Its backdrops include campgrounds, block parties, parks, tailgates, keggers and county fairs.
It鈥檚 also part of the story of capitalism in 20th-century America. The Chicago-based Solo Company originally made coned paper cups for water coolers; in the 1970s, it was modified to plastic and patented in the year of America鈥檚 200th birthday. It grew into a massive disposable foodware company and was sold for about $1 billion to Dart Container Corp. in 2012.
You can trace many plot points of the country鈥檚 last 80 years with the cup, starting with the advent of a postwar office culture and now-iconic 鈥� and clich茅 鈥� water coolers. The country鈥檚 advertising and marketing ethos then allowed a mass-produced plastic cup to become an American household and party mainstay. More recently, it fueled college drinking traditions and a tailgate culture that is practically a business unto itself. And ten-figure sales to larger corporations have become regular occurrences at the corporate level.
The cup achieved a new level of status after recorded a rhapsodic paean about it. Keith initially viewed the song as a throwaway but warmed up to it and included it on a 2011 album.
Perhaps he and his producers realized that a song whose first verse includes 鈥渂arbecues, tailgates, fairs and festivals鈥� contains all the touchstones necessary to connect with American audiences on a deeper level.
鈥淩ed Solo cup/I fill you up,鈥� the chorus goes. 鈥淟et’s have a party.鈥� And America loves a good party indeed.
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Part of a recurring series, 鈥淎merican Objects,鈥� marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click . For more stories on the anniversary, click .
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