Drinking Up History

My name is Elan Baumgarten, and I’d like to introduce to you the history of the water bottle. The perfect hydrating history to satisfy your need for knowledge. Listen in as we unpack the extraordinary history of the water bottle. Taking us back to 1621, the first manufactured water bottles were from the United Kingdom. The Holy Well’s water was considered to be therapeutic and pharmacies sold them across the country. The very first American water bottle brand was Poland Springs - invented in 1845. The water came from a spring in the state of Maine. A Mainer was allegedly saved from death by drinking the water from the spring. Prior to the formal start to water bottle manufacturing, many early civilizations created their own methods for water storage around the domicile. Different water storage devices have popped up around the ages. The neolithic peoples and the pre-civilization humans had their own version of the water bottle - one that was constructed from animal parts and sewn together. Usually it was the hides of animals, but occasionally could be made out of a horn or even plant shells like that of a coconut. Most of the hides used to create these bladders were from sheep or goats, hence the term: goatskin. Eventually, these peoples progressed to the point where they were able to use mud or clay to seal the holes in baskets. In about 5,000 BCE different ancient civilizations began using pottery to hold their water. These pots often had fire treatments to strengthen them. Firetreating pottery continued for millennia as people got better and better at making pottery that could hold water. In about 1500 BCE the ancient Mesopotamians started glass blowing new water storage methods. They coated sand with molten glass to create the bottles. As you might be able to guess, both glass and ceramics aren’t particularly great materials for water bottles. Both are very delicate, shattering if dropped. In addition, they can add a ton of weight to the already heavy thing that they are trying to store - water! Just a gallon of water weighs approximately 8.34 pounds. This might not seem like a lot - but people drink a lot! The average recommendation for fully grown men is 15 and a half cups per day, which is only half a cup under a gallon. That’s almost eight pounds! This isn’t medical advice, please consult a medical professional for any questions pertaining to health or medicine. John Wesley Hyatt invented the first disposable water bottles in 1894, he made them out of plant celluloid - a plant based plastic that he created! Unfortunately, they weren’t nearly as structurally sound as the plastic water bottles today. They were quickly deformed and couldn’t store water for long periods of time. It’s the same stuff that movie film and combs used to be made out of. In 1935, polyethylene was discovered in England. This was revolutionary for the plastic water bottle - and is the material that most of them are constructed from to this day! The first plastic water bottles were released commercially in 1947, although their scale was still small. Their prevalence in society was nothing like what it is today. In the 1950s, high-density polyethylene became available which led to the mass production of plastic water bottles. All of the plastic water bottle use really took off in the 90s when the EPA started putting out warnings for lead in drinking water. Being cheap for both consumers and manufacturers, light, and much more durable than previous celluloid water bottles, they quickly took off. While the environmental impacts of plastic water bottle use are commonly mentioned, there are also many upsides to the cultural shifts that water bottles have produced. The culture around water consumption has become different - it isn’t unusual to see people going to the gym or jogging around with a water bottle. The lighter materials that we use in this day and age have made them more convenient too. There is a massive industry surrounding water bottles. From the list of companies that produce the bottle water - to the companies that manufacture reusable water bottles. They even make bladders that you can put in a backpack with a straw! How cool is that? This isn’t to say that the negative consequences aren’t real of course - in fact, water bottles AND water bottle caps usually rank as two of the world’s top five most littered items. Every single day, an estimated 60 million disposable plastic bottles end up in garbage heaps and incinerators. And estimates suggest that about 8 million tons of plastic bottles end up in the world’s oceans every year. A lot of people reuse one-use plastic bottles, but it is generally considered unsafe. Investing in reusable water bottles is a great way to prevent yourself from littering, and keeping yourself safe. Thank you for listening to Becoming Sage, my name is Elan Baumgarten. If you liked listening to ordinary water bottles become extraordinary - considering listening in next week.