A bottle is a container with a neck and mouth for holding liquids, usually made of glass or plastic. Bottles are used to store and transport liquids such as water, milk, soft drinks, beer, wine, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, ink and chemicals. They come in many shapes, sizes and designs and can be made from a wide range of materials. In many countries bottles are recycled, helping conserve raw material resources and reducing the mounting piles of waste at landfill sites.
Bottles have been used throughout history, dating back to prehistoric times when clay or asphaltum sealed woven containers were used for holding liquids. Using the ingenuity of humans, infinite ways to form and manipulate glass with bottles were discovered and developed over millennia of human history.
The bottle is a vital tool for mothers who choose to supplement their breast milk supply with baby formula. A good quality bottle, properly capped, can be used to feed babies from birth to weaning and beyond. Bottles are available in a variety of styles and functions to suit the needs of individual parents and babies, from easy to clean with venting systems that allow for proper flow, to caps designed to make opening and closing easier, to straw lids that allow children to drink with ease.
Some of the more common bottle features include the push-pull lid that provides for quick access and prevents leaks, the button-push lid that allows for easy one-handed operation, and the straw lid that can be used to easily add a straw to the beverage for added convenience. Many bottle designs feature a venting system to ensure that the liquid is not too hot or cold, and some have a detachable nipple that mimics a mother’s soft nipple to help prevent nipple confusion when breastfeeding and bottle feeding are both practiced at the same time.
Embossing – Raised lettering, patterns or graphics on the surface of a bottle that are formed by incising on the inside mold surfaces (White 1978). Historically, embossing was done by replacing the “plate” of the bottle mold with a differently engraved plate. This allowed for a wide range of embossing patterns for the same bottle design, making it affordable to produce a custom-embossed bottle for every customer (Jones & Sullivan 1989).
Mold Seam(s) – The raised lines on the shoulder, neck, finish, and base of a bottle that were caused where the edges of different mold sections parts came together. Also referred to as joint-marks (Scholes 1952; Tooley 1953).
The bore – The opening in the top of a bottle’s finish from which the contents can be accessed. Sometimes called the throat, orifice, or opening. See the Bottle Finishes page for much more information on finishes and finish parts. Also referred to by some as the collar or lip.
