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Do Americans actually use red plastic cups at parties or is that just a Hollywood trope?
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this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2026
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It's a real thing we do...is that weird?
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)
Those transparent cups are also significantly smaller than these lol
How big are they? The ones I have in mind are usually either 500ml or a UK pint (568ml)
I thought the solo cups were American pint size (473ml)
The ones I have in mind, the non-american transparent plastic disposable cups, most commonly seem to be 200ml.
You can probably get a 200ml (7oz) cup in the US pretty easily still but the most popular search results for "disposable plastic cup" in US sites seem to be 12-18 oz cups (340-511ml) where as the same search query in, say, German sites return the transparent 200ml cups very consistently.
Oh right, I think I basically only remember seeing that size in the UK in those cup dispensers on the side of those office water coolers, which now I think of it are something I'm also seeing less of these days.
One advantage of red cups is that you can more easily see names written on them with a Sharpie.
I mean I don't really go to that many parties (shocker), but when my parents throw parties, usually they get whatever the cheapest disposable cups are.
I think the clear cups are becoming more common in the US. They are far flmisier though. This isn't a huge deal, but I guess it makes sense why solo cups are preferred for beer pong.
White power in the Netherlands
Very occasionally transparent but yeah 99% of disposable cups you get here are white (and too small imo)
The adherence to one type of cup is the weird thing. Most other places it seems there are many different types of cups, so there wouldn't really be any trope about a particular cup, because it would different from party to party depending on what they bought.
Most people don't care about the color. For whatever reason the factory started making them in red so that is what people bought. Other colors exist if you look for them, but there is rarely reason to look. People just grab something cheap and move on without thinking. If the red was sold out they would grab the blue.
For a long time they were the cheap but reliable type of disposable cup. Also very common, like qtips and Kleenex.
No idea if that is still the case, but they were common for a good reason.
Yes. The rest of the world uses glasses because we're adults and we don't hide the glassware from our friends.
The only time I ever see disposable cups used is at kids parties, or to play beer pong.
You all really have enough glasses for 30+ people?
No joke one of the things that caught me most off guard moving to Germany is that when you go to a party it's normal to bring your own cup. I'm sure there are exceptions, but most I've been to are like that
wait that's a great idea. if it's a unique cup you don't have to worry about writing your name on it
Of course i do my family has eaten more than 30 glasses of mustard in my lifetime
We hire glasses for parties.
https://eventhireuk.com/product-category/tableware-hire/glassware-hire/
Your parties are much fancier than mine if you're doing that
You never go to parties where there are more people than storage space for cups? Americans often do this. Often at a park. We can get this in a 100 pack for the cost of of 4 real glass cups.
One thing that gets me is someone i know has real cups, but they always use disposable plates and cups for parties with lots of people because they work in a restaurant and don't want to do the dishes on their day off. So i sort of judge but also i get it.
Kind of weird to be simultaneously so aggressive and so wrong.
I’ve been served drinks in disposable plastic cups at bars and parties across Europe and Asia.
Yes of course, my hundreds of personal parties attended are invalid evidence compares to your personal experience of several commercial venues (which is not even what was being discussed).
I don't care about downvotes. Parties full of red plastic cups is a very American phenomenon - and also in countries that have low environmental concerns and use a lot of single-use plastics. All through Europe, Australia, NZ, Japan, its far more common to use glassware or bring your own cups. I've only been to a few keg parties because it's no cheaper than buying cans/bottles unless you're running a really big event like a wedding - and even then, proper glassware or washable plastic schooners are included in the hire contract (kegs are hired and must be returned).
You’ll note I did not only specify bars and other commercial establishments, but also private parties at homes and in outdoor spaces.
It’s also extremely presumptive (and flat-out wrong) to assume I also don’t have hundreds of examples of this.
Finally, I’d draw your attention to the fact that I never said “red plastic” in reference to usage outside North America.
All in, you really suck at reading bud. You should also take a look at the way you process people disagreeing with you and your anger issues.
Have a nice day and maybe try to be better than you were yesterday.
Haha.. OK pal. Have a great one.
So ... in a situation like the OPs picture, you're using glassware? I'm a backyard bbq/party, you're using glassware?
When we sit down to dinner with friends/family, we use normal glasses, but when we're having large get togethers we use the disposable cups. In my house, we've switched to aluminum ones though as they can be reused and when they get too difficult to clean, they can be recycled, but they're basically the same thing as the red solo cups.
Yeah generally. Or everyone is drinking from cans / beer bottles. Keg parties are not a common thing for your average BBQ or your average student party.
I appreciate the fire
, but in my parents' house we invite more people than we have glassware, plus it's less dishes to wash (which yeah, we should just wash the goddamn dishes and not create more single-user waste, but I don't throw parties myself).
Re-reading my comment it was way more aggressive than it meant to be. I think I laid on the sarcasm too thick after reading the latest Trump bullshitery. Anyway, appreciate your comment.
We culturally usually bring our glasses to parties if we are drinking something that needs a glass (eg Guiness, Kilkenny) if the gathering is over a dozen people. Keg parties require hiring the keg - and glassware (or washable plastic schooners) are included in the hire price. Kegs aren't any cheaper than buying by carton/case here unless you're doing bulk kegs for a wedding or something (Australia - we have a significant alcohol tax).
Upvoted, but it's "fewer" in this case (countable)