Insulated containers designed to keep food and beverages cold, typically using ice or cooling elements. Can also refer to air conditioning units or devices that lower temperature.
From cool + -er suffix, first appearing in the 1880s. The concept evolved from simple iceboxes to modern insulated containers. The slang meaning of 'jail' emerged in the 1930s from the idea of a place to 'cool off.'
The modern portable cooler was revolutionized by the Coleman Company in the 1950s, but the concept dates back to ancient Persia where people used special ice houses called yakhchāls. These massive domed structures could store ice year-round even in desert climates!
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