Buzz
America, never one to follow trends, is one of the few countries still resisting the metric system. We stubbornly use miles for distance and pounds for weight. So, what’s the deal with those two-liter soda bottles?
To clarify: Soda isn't the only thing we measure in metric units. In fact, it's not even the only drink. Wine, liquor, and bottled water are sold in milliliters. The medical field uses metric units for everything from cholesterol levels to dosages of prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicine, and supplements. We run 5-kilometer races, use 215-millimeter tires, and once relied on 8-millimeter cameras.
For the most part, though, we stubbornly stick to imperial measurements. Efforts to convince Americans to adopt the metric system have met with fierce resistance.
Ken Butcher, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has been involved with the government's small Metric Program for years. In a 2013 interview with Mytour, Butcher explained that the deeply ingrained nature of our current system makes switching to the metric system now both disruptive and costly.
"If we were starting a new nation entirely based on the metric system, it would be straightforward," he said. "But when you have to overhaul almost everything that influences people's daily lives, their physical and mental experiences, and their education, and then take that away—it can be quite frightening."
However, when it's practical, we have been willing to compromise. The soda bottle offers a clear example. Up until 1970, soft drinks in the U.S. were measured in fluid ounces and gallons, typically in glass bottles. Then came the plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle, and soft drink manufacturers saw an opportunity to redesign their product.
This redesign effort happened alongside two significant factors: a brief surge in government interest in adopting the metric system, and the growing environmental movement.
PepsiCo decided to combine all three factors into its innovative new bottle: a lightweight, affordable, recyclable, metric-sized container, with built-in fins to make it stable on store shelves. Two liters: the soda size of tomorrow.
The two-liter bottle became a hit, forcing the rest of the soft drink industry to follow suit. And just like that, liters of cola were available to everyone.
