I never knew I'd be learning something new by having dinner at a sushi restaurant...
Okay here's what happened. My friend and I were having sushi, and decided to order something new, a drink called Ramune. The waitress brings this uniquely shaped glass bottle, and shows us how to open it. The bottle-cap has a little marble in its center which needs to be pushed downwards and into the neck of the bottle using a marble popper that is supplied within the packaging of the bottle.
I was so impressed with the bottle! In fact I thought it was a cool new invention from Japan to bottle carbonated drinks. However, a quick search on the internet proved otherwise. The bottle design was invented by Hiram Codd, an Englishman who patented his design in 1872.
I checked out the website for the manufacturer of Ramune, and they have this step by step guide to open the bottle:
Okay here's what happened. My friend and I were having sushi, and decided to order something new, a drink called Ramune. The waitress brings this uniquely shaped glass bottle, and shows us how to open it. The bottle-cap has a little marble in its center which needs to be pushed downwards and into the neck of the bottle using a marble popper that is supplied within the packaging of the bottle.
I was so impressed with the bottle! In fact I thought it was a cool new invention from Japan to bottle carbonated drinks. However, a quick search on the internet proved otherwise. The bottle design was invented by Hiram Codd, an Englishman who patented his design in 1872.
My strawberry flavoured Ramune drink. Note the marble at the neck of the bottle.
There are even a few videos on Youtube that show how to open the bottle, and I watched this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhVLuN7X1hA&feature=related
Apparently, the older Codd bottles are now collectors items, with the rare ones fetching upwards of several thousand dollars. Not bad for something that must have been as common as a Coke bottle in those days...
