Painted Coolers
 

Pretty cool. Check out the pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5377024169

I'm having a hard time putting in to words how much it unsettles me that there are almost 6,000 pictures of painted coolers since someone made the group in 2007. This will be trending at Idaho and Wazzu this fall if it didn't this spring. The current first photo has a bluorange logo of some school who got beat by Reno, Duke, the NY Yankees, and the Detroit Lions, and something else on the side. Is the theme teams with obnoxious fan bases? Because the Boston Red Sox, L.A. Lakers, Dallas Cowboys, and Oakland Raiders are missing ;) as well as an NHL team.

When I'm enjoying the outdoors this summer if I see any guy in Montana, Idaho, Alaska, or Canada with a pink whale or a bow tie painted on a cooler I will laugh. It just will look out of place to me, and my laughter will increase exponentially if he's in camo, Wranglers, or Carhartts.

Oh. I just thought some of the Greek ones were really awesome.

These would kind of stick out on Nantucket or MV as well. it still makes me laugh that southern fraternities love to wear Vineyard Vines - a northern company!

I mentioned several times that I once stayed at a hotel where two winter weekends were being held - which interprets into two fraternities and several sororities. I saw a lot of those coolers and thought, "must be an SEC thing" and "What kind of paint would they use on those?"

I think the ones with ice cubes and beverages are somewhat cool. I'm convinced that they had contests or something.

I was wondering what kind of paint is used, as well. The artwork on some of them are really good, but outside of college-land, I don't think that many people would "get" it.

I would love to make one for our Buffet concerts. So...concerts, and college land.

Most girls use acrylic craft paint and paint pens. If you are really good with a spray can, patient and want it to last, Krylon Fusion paint is the best. In all cases, painter's tape is your best friend.

All my coolers are at my parents house otherwise I'd take pictures. They're pretty awesome.

It is tiresome to carry 'em around when you move though.

I'm being completely serious in asking this (no snark whatsoever):

Are coolers really a big deal? Or are these used for special events?

Even taking out the Greek Life angle, I don't remember folks going all out with coolers. We would just buy cases and go from there. If we did use a cooler, it was just a "regular" one.

They're made for special events.

Off the top of my head...any camping/float trip event, and most formals.

I've got like four of 'em and two or three that were trashed over years of partying.

Here's the site that belongs to a girl who started her own cooler-painting company after not being able to find a job after graduation:

coastalcooler.vpweb.com/Home.html

They just started getting into style here at UNC-A this past year, and the girls actually got pretty competitive about it for our formal. I don't remember seeing or hearing much about it in the previous year though.

They are a big deal, but I've never heard of any contests.

They are made for all overnight events, and the idea is that you fill them with drinks and snacks for the weekend! The guy pays for the (usually very pricey) tickets, and you treat him with a cooler and refreshments!

*personal nonsnarky opinion*

I think painted coolers are a waste. Whenever I see them, I just don't get it. I consider them tolerable for sports teams and alma maters; and for other GLOs in which putting letters and symbols on a cooler does not violate protocol.

I seriously hope that no Deltas are getting/making these with Delta symbols. Not even for special events.

This is kind of what my first reaction was! Putting your letters on a cooler that invariably is for alcohol or, in some cases, has alcohol logos or bottles painted on it? I would be burned at the stake. Even if it's a part of your school's/conference's culture, I'm sure there has to be some whistleblowing going on somewhere.

You can buy paint, or you can buy more alcohol to put in the cooler. Duh. No brainer.

I think they're kinda neat, but if one was ever made for me, the girl wouldn't know what to put seeing as I don't drink or wear 'frat' brands of clothing.

Some of those were really creative and nicely done, but what happens when a dude receives a cooler that is just fugly or embarrassing? Does he leave it at home or try to hide it?

The new pledges in my son's house recently received these from their pledge moms. I understand why a girl would make this for a boyfriend or even a fraternity formal date, but I don't get why an upperclassman girl would take the time for a freshman that she is not involved with romantically. Is the phrase pledge mom new terminology for what we called little sisters back in my day?

Never heard them called that. We called them big sister/little brother and big brother/little sister, even though it was verboten.

I don't think so. If it's the same terminology as on my campus, the "pledge mom" was someone who is close with the pledge's big brother, asked by the big brother to informally look out for the pledge. Usually, there's a pledge mom night, where the pledges meet their "moms", and the moms give them gifts with their letters on it. I believe I got all of my pledge sons basketball-style shorts with my letters on them, and shot glasses with their own letters on it.

The entire arrangement is HIGHLY frowned-upon by virtually all of the national groups.

No doubt to the questionable status of these pledge moms.

It's one thing to buy these items as you described although I am surprised you were allowed to put your letters on things given to non members. Back in our day beyond the little sisters, we had Keymen and Theta had Kitemen, but they wore the baseball jerseys with the word Kappa or Theta written with the baseball font, not our letters. In any case, it's not as time-consuming to buy things as to make things and these coolers look as if they take a tremendous amount of time and money.

These Remington me so much of the "party cups" we made in college. We decorated big insulated mugs for ourselves and our dates for every formal, crawfish boil, Road Rally, etc. They were often quite intricate. By the end of four years, I had a gazillion of them.