The Functions of Ice Boxes Are As Diverse As Their Shapes and Sizes
Keeping food in optimal condition for consuming is obviously a major role for the humble ice box, debatably making it one of the more valued items that you might include when taking the family out for the day or going away on a camping expedition.
What about more diverse uses, potentially of just as much value, however? Apart, of course, from the gentleman who converted his Esky into a vehicle and was fined for driving his Esky while under the influence of strong drink? A recent television program described the unique life-saving work of a department that works out of Florida's Miami Dade Fire Department.
Entitled 'Venom One', this program revealed the life-saving work being carried out by the only place in the whole USA where the widest selection of anti-venom was kept in a single location.
Frequent frames from the program revealed vials of anti-venom being removed directly from the refrigerator and immediately stacked neatly into an open cool box each time a call for assistance came in.
The cool box ensured that each precious vial of anti-venom was maintained at an appropriately cool temperature during transportation.
If that doesn't make the technology associated with keeping an ice box cool invaluable, then what does? There are specifically shaped coolers, designed longer than some other shapes so that the length of a fish such as a salmon can be accommodated, keeping it fresh until the fisherman gets home.
Other cool boxes make ideal containers to keep live bait fresh within and, of course, for the fisherman who is out on the water for many hours at a time, an ice box will keep food and drink refreshingly cool.
Of course, for the fisherman who carelessly capsizes their boat, cool boxes make ideal flotation devices, prolonging their lives long enough to allow rescue to take place.
Staying with the water theme, the flotation properties of ice boxes ensure they make excellent bumpers secured against the side of a boat or landing stage to diminish impact, as well as being anchored in place as a temporary buoy.
Coolers have evolved over the years since they were first introduced.
Nowadays they are most often manufactured in high density plastic, or from a fibreglass outer shell and an inner shell of plastic.
Usually, this inner shell is white - firstly to reflect back into the ice box any escaping cold air and secondly, because the white interior gives more of an appearance of cleanliness and is more of an appropriate colour for food-grade plastic.
The insulation is achieved from a layer of hard foam that is usually injected under high pressure between the outer and inner shells to ensure the foam fills all the recesses, preventing warm air from entering and cold air from leaving.
The best quality ice boxes feature a gasket between the deeply insulated lid and the join of the box, providing a tightly fitting seal that prevents cold air from within the cool box from escaping.
The efficient design of these modern cool boxes also feature additional features such as carrying handles or wheels for easier manoeuvre, and stainless steel clasps or a locking device set within the handles that prevent the ice box inadvertently springing open at the worst possible times.
Coolers come in such a wide range of sizes and shapes that many homes own different cool boxes to fulfill different functions.
Cool boxes have become such valued items nowadays that few households would choose to be without at least one.
What about more diverse uses, potentially of just as much value, however? Apart, of course, from the gentleman who converted his Esky into a vehicle and was fined for driving his Esky while under the influence of strong drink? A recent television program described the unique life-saving work of a department that works out of Florida's Miami Dade Fire Department.
Entitled 'Venom One', this program revealed the life-saving work being carried out by the only place in the whole USA where the widest selection of anti-venom was kept in a single location.
Frequent frames from the program revealed vials of anti-venom being removed directly from the refrigerator and immediately stacked neatly into an open cool box each time a call for assistance came in.
The cool box ensured that each precious vial of anti-venom was maintained at an appropriately cool temperature during transportation.
If that doesn't make the technology associated with keeping an ice box cool invaluable, then what does? There are specifically shaped coolers, designed longer than some other shapes so that the length of a fish such as a salmon can be accommodated, keeping it fresh until the fisherman gets home.
Other cool boxes make ideal containers to keep live bait fresh within and, of course, for the fisherman who is out on the water for many hours at a time, an ice box will keep food and drink refreshingly cool.
Of course, for the fisherman who carelessly capsizes their boat, cool boxes make ideal flotation devices, prolonging their lives long enough to allow rescue to take place.
Staying with the water theme, the flotation properties of ice boxes ensure they make excellent bumpers secured against the side of a boat or landing stage to diminish impact, as well as being anchored in place as a temporary buoy.
Coolers have evolved over the years since they were first introduced.
Nowadays they are most often manufactured in high density plastic, or from a fibreglass outer shell and an inner shell of plastic.
Usually, this inner shell is white - firstly to reflect back into the ice box any escaping cold air and secondly, because the white interior gives more of an appearance of cleanliness and is more of an appropriate colour for food-grade plastic.
The insulation is achieved from a layer of hard foam that is usually injected under high pressure between the outer and inner shells to ensure the foam fills all the recesses, preventing warm air from entering and cold air from leaving.
The best quality ice boxes feature a gasket between the deeply insulated lid and the join of the box, providing a tightly fitting seal that prevents cold air from within the cool box from escaping.
The efficient design of these modern cool boxes also feature additional features such as carrying handles or wheels for easier manoeuvre, and stainless steel clasps or a locking device set within the handles that prevent the ice box inadvertently springing open at the worst possible times.
Coolers come in such a wide range of sizes and shapes that many homes own different cool boxes to fulfill different functions.
Cool boxes have become such valued items nowadays that few households would choose to be without at least one.