Alternative wine closures are being resisted. Alcoa's new glass stopper with Dupont's vinyl ring costs nearly the same as a cork (50¢ to 70¢ each), but requires new bottling machines. Although cheaper screw caps also prevent undesirable compounds from tainting wine, and eliminates the need for horizontal storage, they change the purist aspect of the bottle and are not biodegradable. Naturalists point out the problem of having cork forests disappear in the Mediterranean region from low demand.
posted by Brian B. on Aug 30, 2009 - 97 comments

Don't fuck around with Fiji Water. [more inside]
posted by chunking express on Aug 18, 2009 - 136 comments

Australian town bans bottled water.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jul 18, 2009 - 59 comments

You thought Bonsai Kitty was a hoax. (SLYT; cute) [more inside]
posted by grobstein on Nov 5, 2008 - 33 comments

Ghost in a bottle, anyone? Might want to read this first (RLS PDF). Previously on MeFi.
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] on May 29, 2008 - 26 comments

An unscientific, blind taste-test of US$55/btl bottled vs tap water
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Sep 10, 2007 - 62 comments

Got a few hundred hours to kill? (pdf) A Ship in a Bottle is a type of impossible bottle. No, not this Ship in a Bottle. Have you ever wondered how it gets in there? Or thought about building one yourself? Here's some tips and tricks. If you are not mechanically inclined, how about making a PSP version? Or, heck, just go buy one.
posted by figment of my conation on Feb 20, 2007 - 10 comments

Oceangram is billed as an "online message in a bottle website." Send an anonymous message and it floats to another user in the world. They will add to it and it floats to another and so on. You'll get a bottle sent to you and you can add to it. [mi]
posted by daninnj on Aug 5, 2006 - 11 comments

Target introduces first new Rx bottles in almost 50 years. But they might be the only one for some time to do so. I have a couple in my bathroom already and as a designer I have to say they are brilliant example of thoughtful, careful design that can be extremely usable. If you are a design geek, or a wannabe, this other article is a great read about that explains the design and thought processes, as well as some prototypes, they went through with the NYC School of Visual Arts to get this new design. On page two you can see the new bottle with a detailed features list. I personally like that it wont roll off a table, better readability, and the color coded rings for each family member. One more way design makes your life easier.
posted by Dome-O-Rama on Apr 27, 2005 - 28 comments

After getting the inside story (ha?) on the inventor of everyone's favorite non-orientable surface, the Klein Bottle; and perhaps playing a few games inside of one, you can check out a few 3-dimensional immersions of klein bottles: in Lego, knitted fabric, paper, or glass.
posted by kidsplateusa on Oct 30, 2000 - 5 comments