From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The two liter bottle is a common container for soft drinks. These bottles are produced from polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET plastic, using the blow molding process. Bottle labels consist of a printed, tight-fitted plastic sleeve. A resealable screw-top allows the contents to be used at various times while retaining carbonation.

Contents 1 History 2 Vernacular 3 Recycling 4 Popular culture 5 Inventive uses 6 See also 7 References

PepsiCo introduced the first two litre sized soft drink bottle in 1970^[1], although the bottle did not exist until it was invented by a team led by Nathaniel Wyeth of DuPont who received the patent in 1973.^[2] In 1985, a short-lived three liter bottle appeared on supermarket shelves. The design is still used to this day by some bottlers.^[3][4] Most modern-day two-liter bottles are one piece of polyethylene with a base that is molded with a radial corrugation to provide strength for the bottom and the ability to stand upright. Most of the early two-liters had a separate opaque base glued to the hemispherical bottom of the clear polyethylene flask. This base had a coaxial corrugation and drain holes.

While in most of the world, there is nothing unusual or remarkable about a two-liter bottle, in the United States most foodstuffs are measured primarily in customary units and the two-liter bottle is one of the few usages of the metric system in the country. Since very few other beverages are sold in this exact quantity, the term "two liter" in American English almost invariably refers to a soft drink bottle. This usage is similar to that of "40 ounce" (1.2 L) (referring to a forty-ounce glass bottle of beer or malt liquor) or "six-pack" (referring to six cans or six bottle of beer sold in one package). Other common metric sizes for plastic soft drink bottles include 0.5 liter, 1.5 liter (recently [re-]introduced by The Coca-Cola Company) and 3 liter, used by smaller local bottlers.

Main article: Recycling of PET Bottles

Used two liter bottles see new life in a variety of uses including carpeting, boat hulls, polyester fabric, filling for jackets, sleeping bags, matresses and pillows, recycling bins, scouring pads, and on an increasing scale, new soft drink bottles.^[5]

• Futurama: "All right. It's Saturday night. I've got no date, a two liter bottle of Shasta, and my all-Rush mix tape. Let's rock." - Fry
• The Onion (parody news): Coca-Cola Introduces New 30-Liter Size
• An urban legend was circulated about a grad student who damaged a lab bathroom using a two-liter partially-filled with liquid nitrogen.^[6]

• Two two-liter bottles can be used simulate a tornado by putting water in one and taping the mouths of the two bottles together in an hourglass fashion. Raising the chamber filled with water upright with a swirling motion initiates the vortex.
• A craze in 2006 involved putting Mentos mints into a 2-liter bottle of diet cola to produce a fountain effect (the Mentos eruption).
• A dry ice bomb can be made from a two-liter bottle, water and dry ice
• A pressure bomb can also be made in a two-liter using a chemical to clean pools and strips of aluminum foil. It also works in 20-ounce bottle.
• Water rockets often use a two-liter bottle - fins are attached, the bottle is partially filled with water and air pumped in. On release the air forces out a stream of water to propel the rocket up higher than 100 metres (300 feet).
• Two two-liter bottles can be used with a SODA SHAKER to make your own soda-pop, recarbonate flat soda-pop or carbonate your own fruit juices.
• Two-liter bottles are also used as "hooters" for inhaling smoke from hot knives when smoking marijuana or hashish.

• Metrication in the United States

1. ^ "PepsiCo - Company - History", PepsiCo, 2006.
2. ^ Nathaniel C. Wyeth (Filed November 30, 1970, Issued May 15, 1973). US Patent 3733309 Biaxially Oriented Poly(ethy.ene terephthalate) Bottle, via Google.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
3. ^ "PROSPECTS;Endangered Species", New York times, January 13, 1985.
4. ^ "Alabama Business Hall of Fame to Celebrate 25th Anniversary", C&BA News, September 30, 1998.
5. ^ "Best Practices and Industry Standards in PET Plastic Recycling", NAPCOR, 2003.
6. ^ http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2006/01/how_to_tell_a_true_lab_story.php