Cooler History

A cool box, [1]cooler or portable ice chest most commonly is an insulated box used to keep food or drink cool. Ice cubes, which are very cold, are most commonly placed in it to make the things inside stay cool. Ice packs are sometimes used, as they either contain the melting water inside, or have a gel sealed inside that also stays cold longer than plain water.

The portable ice chest was invented by Richard C. Laramy of Joliet, Illinois. On February 24, 1951, Laramy filed an application with the United States Patent Office for a portable ice chest (Serial No. 212,573). The patent (#2,663,157) was issued December 22, 1953.

The Colman Company popularized the cooler, sometimes known as an "ice box" in the United States with its initial offering of a galvanized cooler in 1954. Three years later, Coleman developed a process to make a plastic liner for coolers and jugs.

Coolers are often taken on picnics, and on vacation or holiday. Where summers are hot, they may also be used just for getting cold groceries home from the store, such as keeping ice cream from melting in a hot car. Even without adding ice, this can be a big help, particularly if having to make another brief stop on the way home.

They are usually made from interior and exterior shells of plastic, with a hard foam in between. They also come in sizes from small personal ones to large family ones with wheels. Disposable ones are made only from styrene foam (like a coffee cup) about 2 cm or one inch thick. Most have molded-in handles, a few have shoulder straps.

The cooler was invented in New Zealand[citation needed], where it is generally called a chilly bin, a genericized trademark. In the United Kingdom the common name is a "cool-box", in the United States they are usually called a "cooler" and in Australia an "Esky", a genericized trademark.