Hutchinson Patent Stopper
A Hutchinson Patent Stopper is a special type of bottle closure that was invented in the late 1800s. It's called a "stopper" because it stops the contents of the bottle from spilling out.
Imagine you have a bottle of your favorite drink. The drink inside is kept safe by a cork or a metal cap that screws on tightly. Before the Hutchinson Patent Stopper was invented, these were the only two types of closures available for bottles.
But the Hutchinson Patent Stopper was different. It was a small round piece of rubber that fit into the bottle opening like a plug. On top of the rubber plug was a metal clamp that held the rubber in place. The clamp had small metal arms that could be pressed down with your fingers to release the rubber plug and open the bottle.
The Hutchinson Patent Stopper was revolutionary because it allowed for carbonated drinks to be bottled and transported over long distances without going flat. Carbonated drinks, like soda, have tiny bubbles of gas dissolved in them. These bubbles create pressure and can cause the cork or metal cap to pop off or leak. The Hutchinson Patent Stopper, with its rubber plug and metal clamp, could keep the pressure inside the bottle and prevent the drink from going flat.
The Hutchinson Patent Stopper was named after its inventor, Charles G. Hutchinson. It was used on soda bottles for many years until it was eventually replaced by the more common crown cap closure, which we still see on soda bottles today.
Imagine you have a bottle of your favorite drink. The drink inside is kept safe by a cork or a metal cap that screws on tightly. Before the Hutchinson Patent Stopper was invented, these were the only two types of closures available for bottles.
But the Hutchinson Patent Stopper was different. It was a small round piece of rubber that fit into the bottle opening like a plug. On top of the rubber plug was a metal clamp that held the rubber in place. The clamp had small metal arms that could be pressed down with your fingers to release the rubber plug and open the bottle.
The Hutchinson Patent Stopper was revolutionary because it allowed for carbonated drinks to be bottled and transported over long distances without going flat. Carbonated drinks, like soda, have tiny bubbles of gas dissolved in them. These bubbles create pressure and can cause the cork or metal cap to pop off or leak. The Hutchinson Patent Stopper, with its rubber plug and metal clamp, could keep the pressure inside the bottle and prevent the drink from going flat.
The Hutchinson Patent Stopper was named after its inventor, Charles G. Hutchinson. It was used on soda bottles for many years until it was eventually replaced by the more common crown cap closure, which we still see on soda bottles today.