Bottle facts for kids

A bottle is a strong container with a narrow neck and an opening at the top. It's different from a jar, which usually has a wide opening. Bottles are often made from glass, clay, plastic, or aluminium. They are used to hold liquids like water, milk, soft drinks, juice, cooking oil, medicine, and shampoo.

To keep liquids safe inside, bottles are sealed with things like bottle caps or stoppers (like a cork). Sometimes, a special "innerseal" is used. Bottles have been around for thousands of years, with early examples found in places like China and Rome. Many bottles can be recycled after use. In some places, you even get a small amount of money back when you return empty bottles to the shop!

Types of Bottles

Glass Bottles

Glass bottles have been very important for storing many liquids, especially wine. When a good cork is used, glass bottles allow wine to get better with age. Glass is perfect for long-term storage because it doesn't let air in easily.

Before glass bottles became common, wine was often sold in large barrels. It was only put into bottles at the merchant's shop. This meant people sometimes cheated or added things to the wine. To stop this, most good wines are now bottled right where they are made.

There are many different shapes and sizes of glass bottles used for wine:

• Bordeaux: This bottle has straight sides with a curved "shoulder." This shoulder helps to catch any bits that settle at the bottom. It's also easy to stack. This is a very common bottle shape.
• Burgundy: This bottle has sides that curve inwards about two-thirds of the way up, leading to a short, straight section. It doesn't have a shoulder.
• Champagne: Similar to a Burgundy bottle, but it has a wider base and is much heavier. This is because Champagne is a fizzy drink, and the bottle needs to be strong enough to hold the pressure.

Codd-Neck Bottles

A Codd-neck bottle

In 1872, a British soft drink maker named Hiram Codd invented a special bottle for fizzy drinks. This bottle, called the Codd-neck bottle, had a marble and a rubber seal inside its neck.

When the bottle was filled upside down, the gas pressure inside pushed the marble against the rubber seal, keeping the fizz locked in. The bottle had a special pinched shape. This created a small space where the marble would go when you opened the bottle, so it wouldn't block the neck while you poured your drink.

These bottles became very popular for soft drinks and even some beers in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Children often used to smash the bottles to get the marbles inside! Because of this, old Codd-neck bottles are quite rare today and are valuable items for collectors.

You can still find Codd-neck bottles being used today for the Japanese soft drink Ramune and the Indian drink called Banta.

Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles are made using a special process called blow molding. They are commonly used for liquids like water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, and milk. They come in many sizes, from tiny sample bottles to very large containers.

The biggest advantage of plastic bottles over glass ones is that they are much harder to break. This makes them safer and easier to transport. However, plastic bottles can cause environmental problems because they don't break down easily in nature.

Images for kids

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  An old bottle from Iran, made in the 16th century.

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  A plastic bottle made from PET.

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  A stoneware jar used for carrying water.

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  A shampoo bottle made from bioplastic.

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  A modern metal bottle, often used for water.

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  A Chinese porcelain bottle from the 11th century.

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  A standard bottle shape.

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  A reusable glass milk bottle.

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  An old soda or beer bottle from around 1855.

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  A Bocksbeutel bottle, known for its flattened shape.

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  Two "thieves" wine bottles from the 18th century.

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  A wall made from bottles.

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  A blue glass bottle from 18th-19th century Iran.

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  A Chianti fiasco from the 1940s.

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  An aluminium spray bottle for perfume.

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  Empty beer bottles of different colors.

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  Two modern hot water bottles with their stoppers.

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  A plastic bottle holding one US gallon of milk.

See also

In Spanish: Botella para niños