The Bizarre Saga of the Red Solo Cup

The Bizarre Saga of the Red Solo Cup

May 7, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

The episode explores the rise of the red Solo cup from a public health product to an international symbol of American culture.

If you're from the United States, you'll instantly recognize the iconic red Solo cup. It's ubquitous at picnics, parties, sports events -- and often seen in TV shows and movies, so much so that the rest of the world covets these cups as "American souvenirs". So how on Earth did this humble cup rise from a public health product to an international symbol of all things American? In today's episode, Ben, Noel, and Max find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Ben, Noel, Max

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Products: red Solo cup

Places: United States

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