Sippin’ (and chuggin’) through the years with a party mainstay — the red Solo cup

By JOSH HOFFNER Updated 9:23 PM MESZ, August 25, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Tabor, S.D. (AP) — It’s red. It’s soft plastic. And it probably contains your favorite beverage. A Dallas Cowboys’ fan tosses a ping-pong ball towards a red plastic cup in a game of beer pong during a tailgate party before an NFL football game at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File) The red Solo cup belongs on any list of the country’s most distinctly American objects, but it’s actually more than a single object. It is a symbol of the American psyche — 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. How the No. 2 pencil became a uniquely American school supply staple 2 MIN READ 34 The world inches toward catastrophic climate events: ‘Bigger shocks are on the way’ 9 MIN READ 454 From rural routes to desegregation runs, the yellow school bus faces a new reality 2 MIN READ 28 It’s 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 The Chicago-based Solo Company originally made coned paper cups for water coolers; in the 1970s, it was modified to plastic and patented in the year of America’s 200th birthday. It grew into a massive disposable foodware company and was sold for about $1 billion to Dart Container Corp. in 2012. A red plastic cup showing condensation is displayed in Phoenix, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) You can trace many plot points of the country’s last 80 years with the cup, starting with the advent of a postwar office culture and now-iconic — and cliché — water coolers. The country’s 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 country star Toby Keith 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 “barbecues, tailgates, fairs and festivals” contains all the touchstones necessary to connect with American audiences on a deeper level. “Red Solo cup/I fill you up,” the chorus goes. “Let’s have a party.” And America loves a good party indeed. American Objects These are among the items that have shaped the nation. Here are their stories.