Inventor of Red Solo Cup Has Died

CHICAGO (AP) — Robert Hulseman, who in the 1970s invented the Red Solo Cup for family picnics only to see it embraced as the go-to beverage holder at college keg parties and football tailgates — and even the inspiration for a country music party hit — has died. He was 84.

The former president and chief executive of his family's Solo Cup Co. died at his home in Northfield, Illinois, on Dec. 21 of health complications following a series of strokes, his son Paul Hulseman told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The younger Hulseman said his father never fully understood how massively popular the large red plastic cup became in pop culture. He said the cup was intended for families, and recalled being about 10 years old when he and his siblings helped their father choose the cup's first colors: red, blue, yellow and peach.

"That product was never intended for keggers," the younger Hulseman said.

Country music star Toby Keith recorded a tribute to the party side of Hulseman's invention in the 2011 hit "Red Solo Cup," with lyrics extolling the plastic cup as "the best receptacle for barbecues, tailgates, fairs and festivals."

What about those markings on the cup?  Check here for more info.