Robert Leo Hulseman may not be a household name, but his signature invention sure is. Hulseman, inventor of the red Solo cup that has become synonymous with partying since its invention sometime in the ‘70s, died last week at the age of 84. Per his obituary, Hulseman passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.
Hulseman started work at his father’s Solo Cup Co. in 1950, where he would succeed his father as CEO in 1980, helping to make their family business one of the world’s largest food service packaging companies. Over the course of his 60 years with Solo, Hulseman became “a hands-on manufacturing expert” and created the equally essential Traveller coffee cup lid, as well as the now-ubiquitous red Solo cup for which he is best known.
Enjoy Donovan Wolfington’s rollicking ode to the solo cup via the Paste Cloud player below, and the next time you’re drinking from Hulseman’s creation, pour a little out for the man.