Life is funny Charlie is graduating from High School next week and were finishing up our lessons for the next two weeks. Homeschool allows us to study subjects that interest Charlie. As we celebrate May 24 National Cooler Day #NationalCoolerDay. I thought it would be fun to study coolers especially Igloo Coolers then have Charlie create a picnic in Charlie’s Homeschool Home Economics Cooking Class and take our picnic to the Park. Would you like to come with us?
National Cooler Day, is celebrated on the Friday before Memorial Day, and National Cooler Day is all about appreciating the life-saving invention, which is the cooler. This year, National Cooler Da takes place on May 24th. Can you imagine that as simple as the cooler is, it wasn’t mainstream until the 1950s?
A cooler is an insulated box that keeps food or drinks cool. Ice cubes or ice packs are usually used in the cooler to help the contents inside stay cool. Coolers are commonly used during the Summer season for storage or transporting perishable products. Coolers are also taken on picnics, vacations, or outdoor activities. Depending on the occasion, coolers are of different sizes, including personal coolers, disposable coolers, reusable coolers, and large coolers with wheels.
The history of the modern cooler can be traced to the beginning of the first millennium when the Celts developed barrels to store and transport food items. The invention was soon taken over by the ancient Romans, who introduced them to the rest of the world through their vast trade routes. In 1802, a Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, patented the refrigerator. which was an oval tube made from cedar wood, with a rectangular tin box inside it and lined using rabbit fur.
The rectangular tin box is filled with snow and crushed Ice to keep the content of the refrigerator cool. This invention changed how food was delivered and stored across the United States. This box became prominent in restaurants and hotels, and even special freight Ice boxes based on the refrigerator design were built for the railroads.
In 1944, an engineer at Dow Chemical, Ray ‘Otis’ McIntire, created Styrofoam. The polystyrene foam was made by combining pressurized polystyrene with isobutylene, making it light, durable, and an excellent insulator. Although its primary purpose was to replace rubber, it later became used in packaging, and then as coolers.
In 1951, Richard C. Laramy filed a patent with the United States Patent Office for a portable Ice chest. Laramy later sold his patent to the Coleman Company. In 1954, the Coleman Company launched a galvanized cooler, later replacing it with plaster. The company also changed the product’s name from ‘portable ice chest’ to ‘cooler.’ Capitalizing on the success of the Coleman Company, other cooler brands started cropping up, including the likes of Igloo and Yeti which became the gold standard for coolers.
National Cooler Day, is celebrated on the Friday before Memorial Day, and National Cooler Day is all about appreciating the life-saving invention, which is the cooler. This year, National Cooler Day takes place on May 24. Can you imagine that as simple as the cooler is, it wasn’t mainstream until the 1950s?
A cooler is an insulated box that keeps food or drinks cool. Ice cubes or Ice packs are usually used in the cooler to help the contents inside stay cool. Coolers are commonly used during the Summer season for storage or transporting perishable products. Coolers are also taken on picnics, vacations, or outdoor activities. Depending on the occasion, coolers are of different sizes, including personal coolers, disposable coolers, reusable coolers, and large coolers with wheels.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
