The developer of the red Solo Cup, Robert Hulseman, dies at 84


If you have ever been to a party thrown by a college student, you're intimately familiar with the creation of Robert Hulseman, who died Dec. 21 at age 84.
As president and chief executive of Solo Cup Co., Hulseman developed the red Solo Cup, in addition to the Traveler coffee cup lid. The company that made cups, plates, and containers was started by his father, Leo, in 1936, and Hulseman first started working in its factory at age 18. The iconic plastic Solo Cup was introduced in the 1970s and has been a staple of get-togethers ever since. Hulseman and his wife were philanthropists, donating to Catholic educational organizations, religious communities, and anti-poverty initiatives, and he also enjoyed writing poetry.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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