Today we take many things for granted,but some of the simple things have interwoven histories that give them more depth.
The disposable drinking cup now known as Dixie Cup is something no one gives much thought too,but had it not been invented we might all still be sharing communal cups or dippers and the germs of others using the same cup. In 1907 Lawrence Luellen began to see this problem and started working on ideas to solve it. Many designs were tried and failed. By 1916 he had came up with a water vending machine with disposable cups called Health Kups. The flu epidemic after World War I put the cups in higher demand and more companies entered the business. To set the product apart from the competition in 1919 the Health Kup became the Dixie Cup,named after a line of dolls. Business expanded again when it was discovered that the drinking cups were ideal for individual servings of ice cream and Dixie Cup took on another meaning.
I had never connected the two seemingly different Dixie Cups to the same maker,so once again I have learned something new.
The disposable drinking cup now known as Dixie Cup is something no one gives much thought too,but had it not been invented we might all still be sharing communal cups or dippers and the germs of others using the same cup. In 1907 Lawrence Luellen began to see this problem and started working on ideas to solve it. Many designs were tried and failed. By 1916 he had came up with a water vending machine with disposable cups called Health Kups. The flu epidemic after World War I put the cups in higher demand and more companies entered the business. To set the product apart from the competition in 1919 the Health Kup became the Dixie Cup,named after a line of dolls. Business expanded again when it was discovered that the drinking cups were ideal for individual servings of ice cream and Dixie Cup took on another meaning.
I had never connected the two seemingly different Dixie Cups to the same maker,so once again I have learned something new.
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