# 0064
beer bottle tops
Artefact, Several Things, Found, Metal (copper, iron, alloys, steel, etc.), Decades
Socio-cultural Data
Historical Uses
Patented in 1892 by William Painter in Baltimore, Crown Holdings has been manufacturing these pressed, crimpted metal bottle tops for 130 years. Originally the liquid seal inside the metal cap was made of cork but was replaced by synthetic plastics since the 1960s onwards. This type of top is used on drinks containing fermentation gases or carbon dioxide i.e. it can take a certain amount of gas pressure from inside the bottle but still remain intact.
Present Uses
Same as the historical uses i.e. for sodas, beers and carbonated drinks where the top needs to maintain the dissolved gas inside the liquid in the bottle.
Present Impact
Where people gather for music festivals, sporting events or the beach in summer, it is possible to find these crown tops in large numbers if recycling facilities are absent.
Technical Data
Class of Material
Metal (copper, iron, alloys, steel, etc.)
Bio-temporal-geographical Data
Residence time (How long does the matter/material/artefact stay in an unaltered state in the location/context/system before it decay?)
Decades
How does the item affect the environment in which it exists?
Harm it
Ontological-cosmological Data
sadness
What can humans give back to this artefact/material/living thing/matter?
Recycle it, do not just throw it away where it can cause harm to other living things and humans.