What makes something "cool"?
motorcycles, clothes, cowboys, Nintendo DS, sunglasses, I-phone and more
What makes something “cool”? It's such an odd subject. Things, often quite mundane things, sometimes things that accomplish very simple and functional tasks will, all of the sudden, be elevated to the status of something “cool” something that people admire with an awe and sense of wonder, as if they are seeing the best of sub-creation, the beauty of what humans can craft with their hands.
Why are some things cool and others are not? Here at The Humble Bragg, it may sound as if I only write about the things that I have definite opinions on, but this blog post is one that I have no answer for: what makes something “cool”?
I don’t have the answer, but I do think I have stumbled upon an interesting clue, a piece of the puzzle. I’m not sure where it fits. I’m not sure if this piece is at the center of the meaning of “cool” or if it is a simple byproduct of how we think about cool things, but I know this:
Cool things are portable things. Portability. That's my clue. I love things that are portable.
A desktop computer might be considered cool, but a laptop gives that portable sheen that makes it something far more desirable, far more sleek and clean. Better yet, a smartphone–the pocketable computer–riles everyone up to a frenzy.
A house might be called “nice” but cars are called “cool.” Better yet, a motorcycle is entirely synonymous with the word.
Back in elementary school, none of my friends won any points for owning an Xbox, but the kid with a Nintendo DS Lite in onyx black was considered a millionaire and we were just lucky to be riding the same bus as him.
A sniper appeals to some as a cool weapon. Several Hollywood movies have been made on the subject. But the cowboy, with his extremely portable pistols and holsters, racing about the plain on his speedy steed understands “cool” innately. He has hundreds of films to his name.
Living out of a small metal box? Not very cool (actually likely very warm). Driving from scenic landscape to scenic landscape while living out of your van? So cool you could get your own Youtube channel.
The ESV Study Bible? Extraordinarily helpful resource, but not very cool. One of those tiny mini Bibles you need a magnifying glass to read? Even the Gideons want one.
Clothes are cool. There is no denying that! Yet, it might be argued that clothes in particular have portability etched into the very fabric of their souls.
My bike is cool, my skateboard cooler still, and my Penny board affects passing strangers so strongly that they give me a silent nod, a note of appreciation for making the world a cooler place to live in.
Portable and cool. What is their connection? Who can help me understand the mysterious appearance of “cool” in its many varied forms?
These are the kind of somewhat useless questions that run through my thoughts when I wake up in the middle of the night having just had a dream about motorcycles and heading straight back into a dream about Verizon's 2007 hit mini cell phone, the “juke.” One of my brother’s friends had one. I thought they were so cool.
Blurb on "Cool":
The brains over at Apple really seem to hold the market on "cool." Who would ever say that an Android was cooler than an iPhone except your computer science friend who knows a thing or two about computer chips? And what could top a Mac? The sleek aluminum slab that could give someone the power to maintain their whole career from a coffee shop is unbeatable. Their prices certainly show that they have a monopoly on cool.
While in my mind "trendy" is a thing to be avoided, I think in my wife's mind "trendy" is synonymous with "cool." She, her mom, and her sisters all recently got Stanley Cups, the newest must-have water bottle. They hold 40oz, fit in a cup holder, have a handle, cool color options, and some even have a silicon finish. My wife didn't get the silicon version, trading that feature for the cream color. (I thought the silicon was the coolest part.)
Yesterday I walked out of work to the sound of an engine far off. As I walked toward my car, a guy came zooming passed on his motorcycle, a crisp doppler effect. He had on one of the matte black helmets with a blacked out visor, and he was dressed such that at any moment he could slam the brakes, throw off his helmet, and bust into a dead sprint. Pretty cool.
Also vintage things that still have practical use in the modern world are cool. Like nice leather products.
And Every Day Carry items can be cool (though sometimes a bit over the top.) My EDC is a Leatherman Squirt, a small multitool that gets me out of many a pinch.
“The skater Oscar Candon complained that "you can’t even ollie up a curb" with a Penny board. According to the skateboarding historian Craig Snyder, plastic is not a popular board component among the skateboarding community.”