I thought I would continue my "Caper Series" of some of the seemingly harmless things Tim and I did as kids that ended up being mischievous acts. This time the subject is paper cups. Leave it to us to have fun and become a nuisance with these simple objects.

 

These days it is very difficult to find the old style Dixie paper wax cups. At least I've never been able to locate any in the last several years. The Styrofoam and plastic cups these days just aren't the same and certainly aren't as much fun as the old waxed paper ones were. One of the fun things we used to do with Dixie cups was to put them on the floor and stomp them and they would make a big "POP!" noise similar to blowing up a paper bag. By the way, I haven't seen anyone (other than myself) blow up paper bags and burst them in years. The Dixie cups would explode much louder if we wet the rims (which made a better seal) and rapidly put them on the floor with a fast motion of our arm. This method caused more air to be trapped and consequently produced a louder "POP!" In fact, it sounded similar to a rifle shot. If we did this inside a building, it would echo. I quite often try this with the thin plastic cups available these days but have not yet succeeded in getting any "POP!" All that happens is that I hear a loud "STOMP!" and my kitchen floor vibrates and the cup splits with no loud "POP!" Alas, yet another reason I'd rather live in the past since nothing is fun to play with these days.

 

I used to scratch off the wax on the outside bottom of Dixie cups with my fingernail when they were empty and make all kinds of shapes on the bottom. In those days, Kool-Aid always tasted better in waxed Dixie cups. My favorite was raspberry. By the way, what ever happened to raspberry Kool-Aid? I get so frustrated about the lack of the old flavors of Kool-Aid (and everything else these days) that I've been considering starting a movement called CTBBRK (Coalition To Bring Back Raspberry Kool-Aid.) When you have completed this story, please follow the link at the bottom of the page to sign my petition.

 

We had yet another fun and mischievous thing we used to do with paper cups. Every Saturday night, we used to go to "The Note", which was a teenage hang out at Ruggles Beach that had dances from 8 – midnight.  At the rear was a snack bar that served soft drinks in Dixie cups. After we finished the drink, we would turn the empty cup upside down and hang part of it over the edge of the table. We would then take our butane lighter and fill the cup up with gas, then ignite it. The cup would go PHUUUUUP! and take off like a rocket with a trail of flame. Cool, huh! When you are finished reading this story, you can follow the "related story link" at the bottom of the page, which will describe some of the other mischievous things we used to do at "The Note". Heck, we were too shy to dance with a girl.

 

We also had fun with other types of paper cups. One of our main hangouts was Heckleman's Sohio Station on the corner. They had an outdoor faucet and just inside the station was a gray metal cup dispenser that had white cone paper cups. These also made great explosions when we stomped on them. They also made good missiles when they were full of water. We would throw them up in the air as far as we could with an underhand throw and they would come down and hit the blacktop causing the water to splash outward. Afterward, the "nose" of the cup would be all crumpled up. Occasionally we would actually drink a cup of water before our capers began. After we left, the blacktop was littered with squashed paper cups. The water faucet had a hose valve on it and had a backboard made from an old piece of rubber conveyor belt. It had "WATER" printed on it in yellow paint.

 

We also had fun with the old cone shaped thick waxed paper milk cartons. The paper cap fit firmly and slipped on and off. We would put the cap on as tightly as we could, lay the empty carton on its side, and then stomp on it. This caused the cap to fly off with a loud "THUUUUP". The few empty containers that survived our feet were sometimes used by my mother to make big cone candles at Christmas time.

 

I sometimes wonder when I was a kid if there would have been video games to distract me and keep me occupied, would I have still done all the mischievous things I did. Yeah, more than likely. Playing video games would no doubt have been short lived since the TV screen would likely have been smashed by a flying milk carton lid.