The Instagram account Cone Maroon is taking Aggieland by storm with its offbeat humor.
Cone Maroon was started in late September by an anonymous freshman. Since then, the account has surpassed 1,000 followers and is still growing. According to the founder, it’s mission is to “[bring] joy to all through the beauty of Aggie traffic cones.”
The creator of the account said she’s always had a bit of an obsession with inanimate objects. She said she names everything because it makes her and others around her smile. This specific interest in traffic cones began in high school when she saw a cone that had “fallen on its face.”
“It just looked sad,” she said. “Creating names and emotions for everyday objects became the norm for me ever since. It makes people laugh, and every time I see a traffic cone while walking around campus, I smile. Now everybody sends me pictures of traffic cones and says, ‘Hey, this made me think of you.’”
Engineering freshman Thomas Moreland said the Instagram account started as a way for a person to express their passion for traffic cones.
“Since then, it has come a long way and has become a fun and unifying symbol for students,” Moreland said. “It gives each follower common ground to stand on and gives off a spark of joy with each post.”
Cone Maroon’s feed is so enjoyable to engineering freshman Jeffrey Zou that he submitted his own photo. The post pictured an overturned cone, with a caption reading, “A rare encounter with a sleeping traffic cone. In the morning, someone set him upright. They are as helpless as the species of turtles.”
“Despite its weirdness, the account provides a refreshing humor to [Texas] A&M’s social media presence and has gathered a group of followers that seem to share a similar type of humor,” Zou said. “I decided to send in a traffic cone photo as it seemed like a fun idea to contribute to this strange trend.”
Statistics freshman Erin Batta said she knows the creator of Cone Maroon and appreciates the sense of humor she shares through the account.
“I love anything random, so Cone Maroon is something I find entertaining,” Batta said. “It’s fun to walk around campus and find cones in weird places and send them in.”
There is a Halloween competition underway where participants can send in photos doing the ghost photoshoot trend, but with a traffic cone on their head instead of a sheet. The most creative photo submitted by the end of October will win a surprise goodie bag.
“Some people are genuinely trying to make theirs good,” the account owner said. “For example, someone stood in a fountain with a traffic cone on their head.”
The creator of Cone Maroon said she was surprised but grateful for all the support the account has been receiving. She said she hopes it will continue to grow and encourage people to use their imaginations.
Editor’s Note: Anonymous sources are an exception, not a rule, and in this case, an anonymous account owner has become a piece of story behind the Cone Maroon Instagram account. The identity of the owner of Cone Maroon Instagram has been verified and is being withheld at their request.