Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SLURPEE CUP

Date Range From

2000

Date Range To

2005

Materials

PLASTIC, INK

No. Pieces

1

Height

16.3

Diameter

10.6

Description

PLASTIC CUP WITH YELLOW, ORANGE AND GREY PRINTED IMAGE OF SOLDIER IN HELMET IN CITYSCAPE WITH BLUE AND ORANGE LOGO “HALO 2”. CUP HAS BLUE BORDER UNDER RIM WITH WHITE TEXT “SLURPEE”. LOWER LEFT CORNER OF IMAGE HAS BLACK AND GREEN LOGO “XBOX”; CUP HAS TEXT AT ALONG BASE “32 OZ, US (946 ML)” WITH WHITE, GREEN, RED AND ORANGE LOGO “7 ELEVEN”, AND BARCODE “0 05120 7” AND TEXT “WWW.SLURPEE.COM”. RIGHT END OF IMAGE HAS GREEN BORDER FROM BASE TO RIM WITH GREEN, RED AND WHITE LOGOS “MOUNTAIN DEW”. BESIDE “MOUNTAIN DEW” LOGOS IS WHITE BORDERS WITH BLACK TEXT “[COPYRIGHT SYMBOL] 2004 MICROSOFT CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MICROSOFT, BUNGIE, THE BUNGIE LOGO, HALO, XBOX, XBOX LIVE, THE XBOX LOGO AND THE XBOX LIVE LOGO ARE EITHER REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OR TRADEMARKS OF MICROSOFT CORPORATION IN THE U.S. AND/OR IN OTHER COUNTRIES. THIS PROMOTION IS BASED ON A MATURE-RATED VIDEO GAME. MOUNTAIN DEW AND THE MD DESIGN ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF PEPSICO, INC.” INSIDE OF CUP IS OPAQUE WHITE PLASTIC; BASE OF CUP IS OPAQUE WHITE PLASTIC WITH EMBOSSED TEXT “TECHNIMARK, ASHEBORO, NC, MADE IN USA, 6, TM-32T, [RECYCLING SYMBOL] 7, OTHER”. LABEL ON FRONT HAS TEARS IN IMAGE AND SCUFF MARKS AT BASE; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

FOOD SERVICE T&E

MERCHANDISING T&E

Historical Association

BUSINESS

History

ON DECEMBER 21, 2018, GALT MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT INTERVIEWED KEVIN MACLEAN REAGARDING HIS DONATION OF PERSONAL OBJECTS. ON THE SLURPEE CUP, MACLEAN RECALLED, “I WAS IN THE [ARMY] RESERVES AT THE TIME WHEN [THE] HALO CUPS CAME OUT, SO I’M PRETTY SURE THAT THEY WOULD DATE TO ABOUT 2001 AND 2002. UP UNTIL THAT POINT I WOULD BE USING DISPOSABLE CUPS. I HAD A 7-ELEVEN…WHEN WE LIVED IN THE 300 BLOCK OF 15TH STREET FOR 10 YEARS, THERE WAS A 7-ELEVEN A BLOCK AWAY FROM MY HOUSE. LATER IT WOULD BE ON MAYOR MAGRATH DRIVE…BY THE SANDMAN IS WHERE I WOULD HAVE GOT THE HALO CUPS. WHAT I DID [IS] I BOUGHT A NUMBER OF THOSE CUPS SO I COULD HAVE HAD AS MANY AS 15 TO 20 OF THEM AND THEN I WOULD HAVE A CUP DISPENSER. IF YOU WERE IN MY VEHICLE [A YUKON], THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN 15-20 CUPS ON THE BACK SEAT. I ALWAYS HAD CUPS THAT I WOULD TAKE IN. I WOULD USE THOSE CUPS BECAUSE I THINK I WOULD ACTUALLY GET SOME REDUCTION IN PRICE FOR BRINGING THAT CUP IN. BUT I ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS A REALLY COOL CUP.” “IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN [PART OF A COLLECTOR’S SERIES].” “[THE CUPS WERE] MOVIE BASED…THAT ONE IS ACTUALLY GAME BASED [HALO IS A GAME]. AFTER THAT ONE CAME OUT THERE WAS A NUMBER OF, EITHER GAMES OR MOVIES, THAT WERE COMING OUT THAT 7-ELEVEN WOULD PROMOTE ON THOSE CUPS. I THINK I HAD TERMINATOR CUP, AND I HAD SOME FUTURE HALO CUPS. I NEVER LIKED THEM AS MUCH AS I LIKED THAT CUP THAT I’VE DONATED.” “I [LIKED] THE COLORS OF IT AND, BECAUSE I WAS IN THE ARMY AT THE TIME, I THOUGHT IT WAS A COOL CUP. AT THAT SAME TIME THEY WERE TWINNING MAYOR MAGRATH DRIVE, MAKING IT 3 LANES IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, I REMEMBER COMING FROM THE ARMORY GOING DOWN TO 7-ELEVEN TO GET MY SLURPEE.” “I DON’T [PLAY HALO]. I JUST LIKED THE SOLDIER GUY.” MACLEAN SPOKE TO HIS INTEREST IN SLURPEES, NOTING, “THERE WOULD BE THINGS THAT WOULD BE PART OF MY DAY TO DAY LIFE AND EXISTENCE THAT, I WOULD SAY, ARE PART OF MY IDENTITY IN TERMS OF WHO I AM. DRINKING SLURPEES WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THOSE THINGS. IF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN AT WORK WITH ME IN THE 1990S THEN YOU POTENTIALLY WOULD HAVE RECALL OF ME DRINKING SLURPEES EVERY SINGLE DAY. IT WAS SUPER IMPORTANT TO ME SO I THOUGHT I SHOULD OFFER ONE TO THE MUSEUM. I KNEW THERE WASN’T ALREADY A SLURPEE CUP.” “I REMEMBER MY AUNT AND UNCLE, WHO ARE BRIAN AND BONNIE MURRAY, TAKING ME AS A KID [AT ABOUT 8 OR 9 YEARS OLD]…THIS WOULD BE IN THE LATE 1970S, AND WE VISITED A STRIP COMMERCIAL SPACE ON MAYOR MAGRATH DRIVE OUT BY THE GREEN STRIP. LOCATED THERE WAS A 7-ELEVEN ADJACENT TO A TACO TIME. I THINK WE WENT TO BOTH LOCATIONS BECAUSE I WAS A FARM KID IN PICTURE BUTTE. I REMEMBER EATING SOFT TACOS WITH MEXI-FRIES AND THEN FOR SURE GOING TO 7-ELEVEN AND HAVING A GRAVEYARD SLURPEE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.” “[A GRAVEYARD SLURPEE IS] ORANGE CRUSH MIXED WITH COKE AND ROOT BEER. IT’S A WHOLE BUNCH OF FLAVORS MIXED IN ONE AND I THOUGHT IT WAS THE COOLEST THING. I DON’T KNOW IF IT WAS THE TEXTURE IN MY MOUTH OR IF IT WAS THE TEMPERATURE BUT IT RESONATED WITH ME IN A BIG WAY.” “I POTENTIALLY WOULD DRINK MULTIPLE SLURPEES PER DAY AND THE SLURPEES ARE NOT ALL THE SAME. DEPENDING ON WHEN YOU GO, THE QUALITY OF THE SLURPEE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. YOU HAVE A BAD SLURPEE EXPERIENCE, YOU MIGHT DECIDE NOT TO DRINK THE WHOLE THING AND THEN WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO IS GO BACK IN FOUR HOURS AND TRY AGAIN. OR YOU COULD HAVE A REALLY GOOD SLURPEE EXPERIENCE AND YOU WOULD GO BACK AND TRY AGAIN. BUT THERE WOULD BE THINGS LIKE, IF I WALKED INTO THE STORE AND SOMEONE WAS IN FRONT OF ME AND THEY HAPPENED TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE LARGE THERMOS [CUPS], THAT COULD HOLD THE EQUIVALENT OF 4 OR 5 OF [MINE]…THEY WOULD DESTROY THE CONSISTENCY OF THE SLURPEE. IF THEY’RE IN FRONT OF ME, I’D BE GETTING REALLY ANGRY AT THEM OVER A SLURPEE WHICH ISN’T GOOD AT ALL. IT WAS TO THE POINT WHERE I COULD WALK IN THE FRONT DOORS AND I COULD LOOK AT THE MACHINE, WHICH WOULD BE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROOM AND TELL, JUST BY THE COLOUR AND HOW QUICKLY THAT PADDLE WAS GOING AROUND, HOW GOOD THAT SLURPEE WAS GOING TO BE. I WOULD TURN AROUND AND WALK OUT IF IT WAS MOVING RELATIVELY QUICK AND IT WAS REALLY DARK. SO I KNEW. THAT’S A PROBLEM AND…POTENTIALLY MY BLOOD PRESSURE WOULD CHANGE WHEN I’M DISPENSING THE SLURPEE BECAUSE I’M SO EXCITED TO GET IT. A LOT OF WHAT WE DO AS HUMAN BEINGS IS ABOUT RITUAL AND IT’S NOT EVEN REALLY ABOUT THE SLURPEE ITSELF BUT THAT, AT A CERTAIN POINT OF THE DAY, WE DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN BECAUSE IT FEELS GOOD. FOR ME, IT WAS AT LUNCH TIME, DRIVING FROM MY HOUSE TO GO GET THAT SLURPEE TO BRING IT BACK TO WORK, WHICH IS A TREMENDOUS WASTE OF TIME. AND FOR WHAT? EXCEPT THAT, I REALLY DID LIKE DRINKING SLURPEES. I REALLY LIKED THE SUGAR RUSH A LOT. IT GAVE ME A LOT OF ENERGY AND I DON’T KNOW IF I HAVE THAT ANY MORE. I NEVER CRASHED AFTER I DRANK THEM. I SAID “IT WAS LIKE I PARACHUTED BACK TO EARTH”. I LOVED THEM LOTS.” “[I STOPPED DRINKING SLURPEES] AROUND [2011/2012]. THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE WAS OFFERING A HEALTH CHECK-UP WHICH WAS REALLY GOOD. I WENT AND THEY MEASURED MY BLOOD SUGAR WHICH WAS HIGH NORMAL. IT WASN’T OUTSIDE NORMAL, BUT IT WAS HIGH NORMAL AND THEY WERE RECOMMENDING TO ME…THAT PERHAPS I SHOULDN’T BE DRINKING SUGAR EVERY DAY. AND ME KNOWING THAT PANCREATIC CANCER IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE RELATED TO SUGAR CONSUMPTION, I JUST KNEW THAT THERE WAS REALLY NO GOOD REASON FOR ME TO BE DRINKING THOSE STUPID THINGS AS PART OF MY DAY TO DAY EXISTENCE.” “I CUT THEM OUT. I STOPPED AND I THINK IF YOU CAN BREAK THE RITUAL OF GOING TO GET THEM, BECAUSE YOU CAN GET THERE, YOU DON’T EVEN DRINK IT OR YOU DON’T EVEN GET IT. I JUST THOUGHT I HAVE TO BREAK THE PATTERN. SO I BROKE THE PATTERN AND THEN I HAVEN’T GONE BACK.” “I DON’T THINK I’VE KNOWN ANYONE WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSUMING THE NUMBER OF SLURPEES THAT I WAS. I KNOW MY SISTER AND HER HUSBAND WERE DRINKING BIG GULPS, AND THEY WOULD HAVE MUCH LARGER CONTAINERS THAN I EVER HAD. PEOPLE WERE CRITICAL OF MY SLURPEE CONSUMPTION, AND MY SISTER AND BROTHER-IN-LAW WERE PROBABLY DRINKING AS MUCH IF NOT MORE COKE, [OR] FOUNTAIN POP, THAN ME. I DON’T KNOW WHY SLURPEES GET SUCH A BAD RAP, BUT I’VE NEVER KNOWN MANY PEOPLE THAT LIKED TO DRINK MORE THAN ME. THE OTHER THING IS THAT I HAVE NO CAVITIES. I DON’T EVEN GO TO THE DENTIST EVERY YEAR BECAUSE I THINK IT’S A RACKET. I WOULD GO, AND THEY WOULDN’T FIND ANY CAVITIES.” “[THE CUP HAS] MEANING TO ME TO SEE [IT] BECAUSE [SLURPEES WERE] PART OF MY DAY TO DAY EXISTENCE FOR—IF IT STARTED IN 1979 AND ENDED BY 2012—THE BETTER PART OF THIRTY-TWO YEARS. IT’S A LONG TIME, AND I [THOUGHT] OF THEM EVEN DURING HIGH SCHOOL.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD, BRANDON SUN, MEDICINE HAT NEWS, AND THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20180029001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20180029008

Acquisition Date

2018-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail