Souped-up, fully loaded cooler becomes most successful Kickstarter ever
If you thought Kickstarter was only good for strange vanity art projects and crowdfunding rich actors' next films, take heart: The newly crowned "most successful Kickstarter ever" is perhaps the most useful picnic companion ever devised.
After asking for a mere $50,000 to fund his invention, the Coolest Cooler, creator Ryan Grepper has raised over $10.5 million from almost 50,000 backers as of this writing — and the Kickstarter campaign still has two days to go.
But don't think of the record-holder as a mere cold-storage box. In the words of Grepper, the Coolest Cooler is "a portable party," with a dazzling list of bells and whistles that's so long, buyers may contemplate buying LoJack coverage.
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Forgot to charge your phone? Use the Coolest Cooler's USB port:
(Kickstarter.com/CoolestCooler)
Fancy a pitcher of margaritas while you're tossing the pigskin? Fire up the built-in blender:
(Kickstarter.com/CoolestCooler)
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Or perhaps you're sick of digging through ice for a sharp bottle opener dangling from a dripping-wet string? Coolest Cooler to the rescue:

(Kickstarter.com/CoolestCooler)
There's also a Bluetooth speaker, LED lid lights, a cutting board, storage for plates and utensils and — to lug all your electronics and frozen drink ingredients around with ease — "extra-wide easy rolling tires." Oh yeah, and it keeps your drinks and food cold.
Mike Barry is the senior editor of audience development and outreach at TheWeek.com. He was previously a contributing editor at The Huffington Post. Prior to that, he was best known for interrupting a college chemistry class.
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