The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Tuesday, July 14, 2026
The Hastings Museum in South Central Nebraska is home to the original Kool-Aid Man mascot suit from the 1970s. The large, fiberglass suit is described as being about 5 feet in diameter and requiring a harness for the wearer, who found it to be quite heavy. The museum's director, Teresa Krotzer Hudson, has spent 30 years researching Kool-Aid's history.
“The suit is shaped like a big glass lemonade pitcher, though in this case, specifically, it's filled with a bright red liquid. This pitcher also has legs and a face. Maybe you see where I'm going with this? This pitcher is the Kool-Aid Man.”
“I'm gonna say it's probably about 5 feet in diameter. It's pretty big, size. So it is a hard shell. It has a metal frame harness in it that you would put across the top of your shoulders.”
“We actually had one of our staff members get into it, and he's like, "Oh my gosh, this is so heavy." And like, almost killing his shoulders after like 10 minutes. He's like, "I can't, I gotta get this off."”