NEW YORK (AP) — It's an icon, that small white receptacle made from a single piece of cardboard folded into a trapezoid-shaped box. Sometimes there's a wire handle, sometimes a bright red graphic of a Chinese-style pagoda on the side. And inside, deliciousness.
The Chinese takeout container — at least, as it's commonly seen in the United States — is actually about as American as it gets, with its mix of ingenuity, immigrant cultures becoming homegrown staples, and the desire for convenience (also known as sitting at home in your PJs.)
The idea of what is essentially a paper bucket dates to 1894, when inventor Frederick Weeks Wilcox was granted a patent for what he called “a new and useful improvement” for pails used to carry oysters. A single piece of material would be folded in such a way that it would have structural stability while also limiting the ways it could leak, and also incorporate a lid.
That's the container. What about the contents we assume are inside it?
Chinese immigrants started coming to the U.S. in the mid-1800s, taking part in the Gold Rush and working to help build the railroads. The communities they created, known as Chinatowns, rose up in places like San Francisco and later around the country. They included eating spots where the foundations of an Americanized style of Chinese food was laid.
After World War II, there was a “real profusion of Chinese restaurants, diversifying away from just chop suey and chow mein ... we see this explosion of interest and growth in Chinese food,” says Michelle King, professor of Chinese history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Crucially, it was also the start of an association in the public mind of Chinese food with cheaper prices, availability and convenience, she said. And restaurant owners wanted to be considered accessible, for which takeout played a part, she said. “You need to take it home, you have a dinner party you want to cater for, we can do that for you, right?” King says.
At some point in the 1970s, at a packaging company then known as Fold-Pak, the pagoda design was added, sometimes along with words printed in a font used to stereotypically evoke an association with Chinese culture.
“It kind of becomes claimed as a Chinese American food eatery item, like the pizza box or something like that might be for Italian food,” King said.
These days, takeout cartons come in a variety of shapes, and the food landscape has expanded to include a range of cuisines that might show up in the former oyster pail.
Even so, it IS still an icon — quite literally. Check your emojis for “takeout.”
Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click here. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.
A Chinese takeout container with fried rice inside is photographed in Phoenix, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A fast-moving fire burned at least six homes in hot Southern California winds Friday, prompting evacuations and power outages, authorities said.
TV footage showed homes engulfed in flames in San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Firefighters sprayed two-story suburban homes with flames leaping out of their roofs. Black smoke billowed over tennis courts and backyard swimming pools.
Over 500 firefighters were battling the blaze that had grown to nearly 3/4 of a square mile (nearly 2 square kilometers), said Capt. Steve Concialdi, a spokesman with the Orange County Fire Authority.
“We’re doing everything we can to protect structures,” he told KTLA-TV. The Orange County Fire Authority could not be immediately reached by phone.
An evacuation shelter has opened in each city.
The Norte fire started in the coastal city of San Clemente and wind drove it into San Juan Capistrano. It was one of several fires in the region hit by dry, warm gusts known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior and toward the coast. The strongest winds were expected through Friday afternoon but conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday night.
Tens of thousands of people in the state are without power after their electricity was turned off. A separate fire shut down a section of Interstate 5 that is a major artery connecting Orange County to San Diego, adding hours to commutes throughout Southern California.
The coastal cities are surrounded by hillsides. San Juan Capistrano, a city of 35,000, is known for horse trails and the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente, which is home to 62,000 people, is known as a “Spanish village by the sea” and popular with beachgoers and surfers.
Thousands were being asked to evacuate, said Victor Cabral, a San Clemente council member.
“The fire is right up on the city,” he said. “It’s on the perimeter of our homes on the north end.”
Nine schools were also closed Friday in San Juan Capistrano, the Capistrano Unified School District said.
Howard Hart, a councilmember for San Juan Capistrano, said he and his wife doused their roof with water and moved propane tanks away from their home before they evacuated Friday with a to-go bag.
Laura Hart hasn't had to evacuate due to fire in the more than five decades she’s lived in the community, she said.
“This doesn’t usually happen to us, we usually see it on the news,” she said. “We always pray to God it’s not us, but yeah, it was today.”
The Bryson Fire that sparked Thursday in Malibu had died down significantly and firefighters on Friday were focused on mop-up and containment, officials said. The blaze prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a swath of the Santa Monica Mountains that covered more than 12,000 people.
Winds from 20 mph to 35 mph (32 kph to 56 kph) were expected Friday, with gusts forecast to reach 50 mph up to 70 mph (80 kph to 112 kph) in some areas, the National Weather Service said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who faced criticism for her city's response to deadly fires in 2025, directed the fire department to deploy personnel and equipment ahead of the winds. The fire department also requested assistance from the state’s office of emergency services.
“It’s a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Firefighters on Friday worked to contain two other fires that had sparked Thursday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders in the city of Azusa, north of LA, and Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.
More than 200,000 customers in California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com.
Some of California’s worst wildfires have been sparked by power equipment, and utilities in recent years have begun proactively shutting off power in dry winds.
Farther south, a fire at the Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton threatened buildings and doubled in size over one day to more than 3 square miles (8 kilometers). The blaze crossed containment lines Friday morning, closing a section of the I-5 freeway as the fire burned steadily toward it.
In Northern California, some communities in the Sierra Nevada and its foothills began experiencing strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity Wednesday night.
The weather service issued a red flag warning for parts of central and Northern California through Friday morning, saying any fires would spread rapidly. Such warnings are issued when weather conditions create an increased risk of wildfires.
Customers from the Central Coast to the upper corners of the Sierra Nevada could be without power through Saturday afternoon, Pacific Gas and Electric Company said.
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding contributed from Los Angeles.
Resident Ephraim Taylor, grabs a garden hose in an effort to help with a wildfire spreading in his neighborhood, during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A firefighters works to douse a fire on the roof of a house engulfed in flames during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Firefighters work to douse a fire on house in flames during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The sun is obscured by smoke as firefighters work to save structures on Via La Mirada during the Norte fire in San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP)
Firefighters work to save structures on Via La Mirada during the Norte fire in San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP)
The Bryson Fire illuminates a ridge top on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Crews make a stand in front of the Bryson Fire on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Crews make a stand in front of the Bryson Fire on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A tanker drops retardant on the Peak Fire Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Azusa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Hot spots glow across a hillside during the Bryson Fire in Malibu, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
