The
two-liter
bottle is a common container for
soft drinkA soft drink is a drink that does not contain alcohol . Soft drinks are often carbonated and commonly consumed while cold. The most common soft drinks are colas, flavored water, sparkling water, iced tea, sweet tea, lemonade, squash and fruit punch....
s. These bottles are produced from
polyethylene terephthalatePolyethylene terephthalate , commonly abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination...
, also known as PET plastic, using the
blow moldingBlow molding, also known as blow forming, is a manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts are formed. It is a process used to produce hollow objects from thermoplastic....
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.
In the United States, the two-liter bottle is one of the few usages of the
metric systemThe metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement, first adopted by France in 1791, that is the common system of measuring units used by most of the world. It exists in several variations, with different choices of fundamental units, though the choice of base units does not...
. Since very few other beverages are sold in this exact quantity, the term "two-liter" in
American EnglishAmerican English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...
almost invariably refers to a soft drink bottle.
The
two-liter
bottle is a common container for
soft drinkA soft drink is a drink that does not contain alcohol . Soft drinks are often carbonated and commonly consumed while cold. The most common soft drinks are colas, flavored water, sparkling water, iced tea, sweet tea, lemonade, squash and fruit punch....
s. These bottles are produced from
polyethylene terephthalatePolyethylene terephthalate , commonly abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination...
, also known as PET plastic, using the
blow moldingBlow molding, also known as blow forming, is a manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts are formed. It is a process used to produce hollow objects from thermoplastic....
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.
In the United States, the two-liter bottle is one of the few usages of the
metric systemThe metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement, first adopted by France in 1791, that is the common system of measuring units used by most of the world. It exists in several variations, with different choices of fundamental units, though the choice of base units does not...
. Since very few other beverages are sold in this exact quantity, the term "two-liter" in
American EnglishAmerican English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...
almost invariably refers to a soft drink bottle. Other common metric sizes for plastic soft drink bottles include 500 milliliters, 1 liter and 3 liters.
History
PepsiCoPepsiCo, Incorporated is a Fortune 500, American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, NY with interests in manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, as well as salty, sweet and grain-based snacks, and other foods...
introduced the first two-liter sized soft drink bottle in 1970, The bottle was invented by a team led by
Nathaniel WyethNathaniel C. Wyeth was an American mechanical engineer and inventor. He is best known for creating a polyethylene terephthalate beverage container that could withstand the pressure of carbonated liquids...
of
DuPontE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont or Du Pont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont is currently the world's second largest chemical company in terms of market capitalization and...
who received the patent in 1973. In 1985, a three-liter bottle appeared on supermarket shelves. The design is still used to this day by some bottlers. 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 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.
Recycling
Used two-liter bottles see new life in a variety of uses including carpeting, boat hulls, polyester fabric, filling for jackets, sleeping bags, mattresses, pillows, recycling bins, scouring pads, and on an increasing scale, new soft drink bottles.
Inventive uses
- Two two-liter bottles can be used to simulate a tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud...
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
Mentos is a brand of mints, of the "scotch mint" type, sold in many markets across the world by the Perfetti Van Melle corporation. Mentos was first produced in the Netherlands during the 1950s. The mints are small oblate spheroids, with a slightly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior...
mints into a 2-liter bottle of diet cola to produce a fountainA fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
effect (the Diet Coke and Mentos eruption).
- A dry ice bomb
A dry ice bomb is a simple bomb-like device. While the simplicity and ease of construction, high bursting pressure, and sound make this dry ice activity appealing for recreational purposes, however it can be unpredictable and dangerous.- Overview :...
can be made from a two-liter bottle, water, and dry iceDry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used as a versatile cooling agent.- Properties :...
- Water rocket
A water rocket is a type of model rocket using water as its reaction mass. The pressure vessel—the engine of the rocket—is usually a used plastic soft drink bottle...
s often use a two-liter bottle. Fins are attached, the bottle is partially filled with water, and air is pumped in. On release, the air forces out a stream of water which propels the rocket higher than 100 meters (300 feet).
- A funnel
A funnel is a pipe with a wide, often conical mouth and a narrow stem. It is used to channel liquid or fine-grained substances into containers with a small opening. Without a funnel,spillage would occur....
by cutting the bottle in half.
- An impromptu bee or wasp trap can be created by cutting the bottle in half and inverting the top into the bottom half where soda remains or bait can be placed.
- The bottle portion of early two-liter bottles could be removed from its opaque base and then reinserted after cutting the top off the bottle and inverting it. If air holes were cut in it, this would create a small greenhouse or, if left uncut, a terrarium.
- An empty two-liter bottle sealed with its cap is sometimes used as a bobber for fishing in the ocean or in lakes and rivers.