A bottle is a container that can hold liquids. Bottles can be made of glass, plastic or other materials. Bottles are useful for holding water, beer, wine and other liquids. Bottles can also be used to store other items, such as food and medicines. Glass bottles are typically made of a material called silica, which gives the bottles their clarity and durability. Plastic bottles can be made from a variety of materials, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Some plastics are not recyclable, so it is important to check the label on the bottle to determine its resin identification code before recycling it.
Human ingenuity has developed infinite ways to shape liquid glass and make bottle-like objects. This section focuses on some of the most common and useful bottle shapes. Some terms used here are defined on the General Bottle Morphology pop-up page or in other sections of this website. The definitions provided are a composite from many sources and some variation in terminology exists; additional information can be found at the linked pages.
Block – A wooden form, hollowed out and fitted with a groove for the blowpipe to be inserted into as part of the hand-blown bottle process to give symmetrical forms to a bottle body that would not otherwise be possible with free-blown glass. A block mold is the predecessor of a parison mold in a bottle making machine. The term is also sometimes applied to the block of a dip mold (see Bottle Bases).
Finish – The neck end of a finished bottle. A finished bottle may have a tooled or applied finish. See the Finishes & Closures page for more information.
Glass is unique in that it is neither a liquid nor a crystalline solid but a disordered amorphous material. This property, along with new workable glass compositions that are continuously being developed, makes it impossible to describe in detail the physical properties of glass or how a particular type of glass is manufactured.
A bottle episode is a television show episode that is “not as good as other episodes in the same season.” It is usually due to factors that increase production costs, such as building new sets, filming outdoor scenes on location or at a set or factory, adding guest stars who don’t have full-season contracts or requiring significant visual effects. Generally, a show’s producers will try to limit the number of bottle episodes to save money and allow the rest of the season to go bigger. The term is believed to have originated as 19th Century theater slang for courage or nerve. It is now common slang for any dismal performance on or off the stage.