I think it was a practical matter, on two counts. First, ease of manufacture (single stamp-cut sheet made of thin, single-use stock that was rolled to a single glueline) and distribution (dense stacking, no bottom rim of each cup stealing 5/16ths of an inch of stack space). Second, convenience to businesses offering the cooler & cups (near mandatory single-use/limited serving-size restriction by nature of the pointy design, which prevented cups from being left sitting around on furniture, desks, and countertops afterward, and kept the cooler from being drained too quickly or water from being wasted).
It probably didn’t hurt that it was easy for hands of any size/age to hold, but that would have likely been a benefit that marketing got hold of, rather than a practical design feature.
These are just guesses from a mind fascinated by the process of industrial design engineering, I have no special knowledge of pointy little cups (which Herr Drumpf may or may not cut eyeholes in and place upside-down atop his KKK dolls, errm, I mean “action figures”). All strictly conjecture on my part.
Again, strictly conjecture, but I expect that plastic, while not necessarily cheaper, was perceived as being more “modern”. After a while, paper cones were thought of as old. It probably also became less popular as water/hydration options other that courtesy bubblers or fountains became more plentiful. Reusable containers less fragile than glass vacuum Thermoses would have contributed too, I expect.
The paper cones are far from dead though and, if the rest of modernity is any indication, they’re probably primed to make a comeback at some point. Give it time. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.
I never see the paper cones except around water coolers at service stations. The better question is, why in the hell are they cones? Wouldn’t the cost of making a bottom be less than the inconvenience of having a cone? I reuse paper cups, but I wouldn’t reuse a cone, unless I could kludge it so it doesn’t fall lip down on the table when I set it down. I wouldn’t bother to kludge it. Two or more cones has to be more expensive than one cup.
You don’t have shaved ice vendors? You’re missing out. There’s a good reason that comes in a cone though: to keep the ice ball from soaking in its melted runoff.
Well, they also crush down much smaller when you throw them away than any flat-bottomed cup, so less space taken up in a trash can/trash bag, in addition to the other benefits.
Nobody gave a shit about trash volume when those were popular. Hell, judging by the garbage cans in my office kitchen, that’s still the case. Nobody crushes anything! They don’t even pop cushion wrap! I thought Millennials were supposed to be inherently conscious of recycling and all that, but there are constantly fully intact containers, and in the wrong bin to boot. (My coworkers are almost all under 35.) /rant
Red cups were always a bit rich for my blood. They cost several times what other disposable cups went for, and I see that they still cost on the order of ten cents each, minimum.
But they are big! In the age when 12 ounces was considered standard, these were 18 ounces, a bit bigger than a pint. This is why they represent America!
I was referring specifically to the overworked office admin who would have to do the purchasing… odds are they were also the one stuck with emptying the lobby or breakroom trash cans if they got full before the end of the day. Poorly compressible cups = trash duty, compressible cones = not my problem. If I’m doing purchasing and can save a shred or two of dignity (in addition to the cost savings of the cones themselves), I know what I’m ordering!
I’ll sit on that bench with you though… the damn bins are labelled clearly, on all sides and on signs above each one. What, exactly, is so damn hard about reading signs? I’m sorry, but does the bin that is signed as “Coffee Grounds Only” have some magical magnetic attraction to the pile of paper, plastic, and food scraps you’ve got stacked on your paper plate? Because somehow they all magically ended up in that bin instead of in the fucking adjacent bins labelled “Paper”, “Plastic”, and “Compost”. So why don’t you go drive home in your hybrid car with all the pro-earth, recycling, “save the planet” bumper-stickers plastered all over its eco-conscious ass-end, and try to fucking figure out what the pictures and symbols all over the bins really mean, because we all really, really, really want to know!!! /rant
Glad to get that off my chest… I nearly didn’t make it. Whew!
edited to add: In my mind, I hear that rant in the voice of George Carlin.
