2024-01-23 11:15:02
The proliferation of disposable plastic waste without corresponding recycling and treatment methods has resulted in plastic pollution not only appearing in garbage dumps, destroying beautiful beaches, invading the sea and killing marine life, but now plastic has also invaded our blood. However, the problem is not plastic, but the large amount of waste caused by single use. Where did the disposable culture begin? Experts believe it was a product of the Spanish Flu era in 1918.
In the days of our grandparents, everything was reused and everything might be repaired, even in middle- and upper-class homes, whether it was furniture, glass, clothing. But from the beginning of the 20th century, a disposable culture became popular.
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1907 Paper cup invented
The temperance movement developed following the American Civil War. At that time, temperance activists filled cities with drinking fountains and took temperance cars to bars in towns to provide water as a healthy alternative to beer or spirits. Whether people drank from fountains, barrels, or wells, To get water to drink, they would pass around metal, wood or ceramic cups.
At that time, Lawrence Luellen, a Boston lawyer and inventor, believed that such public cups would spread diseases. In 1907, he invented a paper cup that might be thrown away following use, which he named the Health Kup. However, there was no disposable culture at that time. Cups made of paper were a novel idea. Scientists had just begun to understand the transmission methods of infectious diseases, and ordinary people might not understand them. Therefore, this kind of cup was not well accepted at first.
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▲ 1950 Dixie Cup advertisement. (Source:Flickr/SenseiAlan CC BY 2.0)
Development of the cup was limited for a decade following its introduction, until the Spanish flu in 1918 made disposable cups a necessity. The pandemic has killed between 50 million and 100 million people globally, or regarding 1 in 20 people on the planet. In the United States, nearly one in three people has been infected and more than 500,000 people have died. Suddenly, people were terrified of germs, and drinking out of disposable cups became a matter of life and death. At that time, Lawrence used an campaign to highlight the threat of infectious diseases, promote his cup, and in 1919 renamed the Health Kup the Dixie Cup.
Post-1918 Disposable Culture Pops
A 1920 ad wrote that countless lips touched it and countless germs gathered and multiplied at its edges, germs of influenza, pneumonia, diphtheria and more serious diseases. Later, as awareness of health risks grew, more states banned the use of public drinking fountains, making the Dixie Cup even more popular.
After the success of the Dixie paper cup, other disposable products began to appear, such as facial tissue in 1924 and paper towels in 1931, which also led to the introduction of new and environmentally harmful materials such as polystyrene into consumer products.
After scientists understand the dangers of plastic, many countries have now begun to implement bans on single-use plastics and turn to paper products instead, but this nostalgic approach may be wishful thinking. A 2023 study found that once paper cups are discarded, they may be as toxic as plastic. The reason is that paper cups are more than just paper. The plastic lining the cups can take decades to break down, leaching microplastics.
It’s hard to go back to the days of our grandparents who reused and specialized in restoration. Food historian Cory Bernat said that when he looked at human food culture, he found that it is all regarding habits, and that companies have a more profound impact on people’s behavior than they realize. No matter what the alternative is, sadly once Sex mugs will always be around.
(First image source: Flickr/Lorie Shaull CC BY 2.0)
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