this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2026
250 points (98.4% liked)

No Stupid Questions

48776 readers
556 users here now

No such thing. Ask away!

!nostupidquestions is a community dedicated to being helpful and answering each others' questions on various topics.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must be legitimate questions. All post titles must include a question.

All posts must be legitimate questions, and all post titles must include a question. Questions that are joke or trolling questions, memes, song lyrics as title, etc. are not allowed here. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.



Rule 2- Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Questions which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding META posts and joke questions.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-question posts using the [META] tag on your post title.

On fridays, you are allowed to post meme and troll questions, on the condition that it's in text format only, and conforms with our other rules. These posts MUST include the [NSQ Friday] tag in their title.

If you post a serious question on friday and are looking only for legitimate answers, then please include the [Serious] tag on your post. Irrelevant replies will then be removed by moderators.



Rule 7- You can't intentionally annoy, mock, or harass other members.

If you intentionally annoy, mock, harass, or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here. This includes using AI responses and summaries.



Credits

Our breathtaking icon was bestowed upon us by @Cevilia!

The greatest banner of all time: by @TheOneWithTheHair!

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

GLysEPim574mdR0.jpg

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Zeppo@sh.itjust.works 134 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes, if you're at the sort of party where there is a keg of beer, or at a large family picnic especially. They're the standard disposable cup for situations where the hosts wouldn't have enough cups for everyone and don't want to deal with potential loss and breakage.

[–] milkisklim@lemmy.world 62 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Also the Solo brand is popular for its structural integrity and perceived measurement lines. Now, the company claims that the distinct cup width changes aren't for helping measure liquids for various alcoholic drinks so one can measure a shot versus a glass of wine or a glass of beer. However, I think that's a bit of a legal cover.

[–] irish_link@lemmy.world 35 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And even if it truly isn’t for measuring a perfect shot for making a cocktail, it STILL IS a perfect equal measure if you want to hand out shots to a group of people. May not be a full shot but no one gets less or more than others.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] PNW_Doug@lemmy.world 41 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Red cups are like yellow school buses. Both are real.

[–] BillCheddar@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago (3 children)

And largely used by children.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] TrapRag@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

Sometimes they're blue

[–] DJKJuicy@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 days ago

Yes. My wife also puts Sharpies next to the stack of Solo cups so everyone at the party can write their name on their cup.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

its a common thing for parties, not just for beer, but for birthday parties, barbeques, holding even solid food.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

That is most definitely a well established thing in the US going back decades: I can't count how many house parties I went to in college, birthday parties when I became a parent, etc. where they had red Solo cups. I would describe them as ubiquitous.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 15 points 3 days ago

We use red Solo cups everywhere, not just at parties.

[–] PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S@anarchist.nexus 54 points 4 days ago (23 children)

It's a real thing we do...is that weird?

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 30 points 3 days ago (9 children)

I think everywhere else in the world, the go-to plastic disposable cup is transparent, I don't really see the red ones unless someone has gone out of their way to get them from an American importer for some reason (usually beer pong, funnily enough)

load more comments (9 replies)
load more comments (22 replies)
[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago

Naw. Not exclusively. They come in lots of colors now.

[–] Denvil@piefed.world 49 points 4 days ago

It's not like there aren't other disposable cups used, but yeah, very common

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago

Yes, but not just parties. Parties using red cups are historically going to be drinking parties for younger people like “keggers.” Red cups are fairly ubiquitous for lots of events like picnics, cookouts, birthday events and the like.

I can’t say they’re used at all parties, but they’re pretty common.

[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Theyre also handy for mixing expoxy or paint.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 41 points 3 days ago (10 children)

They're the first hit for "plastic cup". They're cheaper than the clear version. You can get store brand, or Solo brand if you want to go posh.

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 44 points 3 days ago (8 children)
[–] howrar@lemmy.ca 26 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago

It'll always be the Taco Bell water cup to me.

[–] tophneal@sh.itjust.works 19 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (6 children)

The peak of 90s design. Love me some jazz

load more comments (6 replies)
load more comments (6 replies)
[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 31 points 3 days ago (8 children)

Those cups became very popular in the 1970s, particularly amongst younger people living at home or going to college. If you and your buddies from college were having a big party, you could buy a sleeve of cups and a beer keg a have a good time. I remember going to parties like that. The law said people were not allowed to sell alcohol without a license, so to cover the booze costs, the hosts would sell cups at the door that people could drink from.

I sincerely think that Red Solo Cups beat out other disposable cups are because of the lines. They are actually measurements that you can use to measure mixed drinks if you're not drinking beer or wine.

DtE7l6y9zwDHuXV.png

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] mvirts@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago
[–] Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world 36 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] bluGill@fedia.io 25 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Solo is the brand that makes them. They make other colors too but red is by far most common

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 19 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I’ve seen this asked a few times over the years, here or back on Reddit maybe.

Yes. Yes we do. But it’s mostly like high school or college parties. Kids who don’t have a lot of money and are going to make a mess. Sometimes even adults if it’s like a large outdoor barbecue kind of thing. Or around water or a pool where you don’t want glass.

You usually wouldn’t do this for a more formal or “classy” type of occasion. Though it does happen. Some might see it as tacky in that context.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] ParadoxSeahorse@lemmy.world 21 points 3 days ago (3 children)

These 7oz/200ml cups are the worst, the very worst. Holds two mouthfuls of drink and crack in half if you look at them funny, just terrible

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (9 children)

What are other countries doing? Is it just a 'bring your own cup' thing? Do y'all just have a hundred cups on hand for parties?

[–] genzboomer@lemmy.zip 43 points 3 days ago

We usually just limit the number of friends we invite to match the number of cups we own.

For example, I don't own any cups.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Traditionally, one person sips from the bottle, then shares with the homies via French kiss. More hygienic that way.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (2 children)

We pour the soda in our hands and try not to spill as we gesture during conversation 🤌

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] blackbeans@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 days ago

Plastic cups are not all that prevalent anymore in homes here in Europe for environmental reasons.

Paper cups are used for drinking parties. But if we want to be inviting to our guests we serve drinks in glasses. Glass can be quickly cleaned and reused so no need to have hundreds of them.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] lamlox@piefed.social 20 points 3 days ago

Family events with a sharpie so everyone knows which drink is theirs

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Why would this be hard to believe

Edit: oops my privilege is showing, mb yall

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 22 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (6 children)

"Do Americans rally have McDonald's everywhere or is that a Hollywood thing?"

"Is Starbucks really that popular or is that a Hollywood thing?"

Do Americans really eat hamburgers or is that a Holllywood thing?"

load more comments (6 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

This gets asked so much, I feel like I need to contribute something new to the conversation…

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 3 days ago

Not sure why this keeps getting asked, but yes. Solo cups (the original red cup) were incredibly cheap, held up decently, and were sold in large packs everywhere. They were so cheap that for a long time I don't think there were even generic options. Now days most places have their own brand and they frequently make them red just because that is what people expect.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 3 days ago

Toby Keith literally made an ode to the Red Solo Cup.

I remember being drunk, with a red solo cup, singing along to this song, at a frat... more than once.

Yes, its safe to say the red solo cup is an actual cultural phenomenon.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I have a few hundred in my bigger pantry

[–] AndyMFK@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 days ago (5 children)

How many pantries do you have?

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] mechoman444@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

Ya. We use them all the time. They're actually good and relatively inexpensive.

[–] Blaster_M@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (2 children)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 16 points 3 days ago

Yeah. There are a bunch of different brands that make them, and they come in a lot more colors than red, but that type of disposable plastic cup has been pretty ubiquitous since the 1990s. There are also clear plastic disposable cups that are just as common, but you tend to see those at more adult functions because they give off less of a high school kegger/kids birthday party vibe.

I think Hollywood uses the red ones so much because it's an easy visual shorthand to express to the viewer exactly what kind of party is going on. They're also are opaque, so they can just hand everyone an empty cup and not have to worry about liquid levels and visual continuity, which probably makes things a lot easier on set.

load more comments
view more: next ›