WEBVTT - Why Does the U.S. Sell Soda in Liters but Milk in Gallons?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren volk Bomb. Here in the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>our milk is packaged in gallon jugs. All are liquid dairy,

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<v Speaker 1>and liquid dairy substitutes tend to come in pints, courts,

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<v Speaker 1>and gallons. All US customary measurements based on the Imperial system.

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<v Speaker 1>But our soda comes into leader bottles, a metric measurement,

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<v Speaker 1>and extra confusingly, twelve ounds cans US customary Again, Why

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<v Speaker 1>in the same country would two liquids be packaged and

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<v Speaker 1>distributed using different systems of measurements. The short but sticky

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<v Speaker 1>answer is that this is just one of many examples

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<v Speaker 1>of America's fractured approach to measurement. The US customary system

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<v Speaker 1>is a holdover from colonial times and based on old

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<v Speaker 1>British standards. The United States is one of only three

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<v Speaker 1>countries in the world that hasn't adopted the metric system,

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<v Speaker 1>a Liberia and me and mar being the other two.

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<v Speaker 1>But American SODA's embrace of the leader coincided with a

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<v Speaker 1>brief window in history when it seemed that the metric

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<v Speaker 1>system might take over. Let's explain in the early nineteen seventies,

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<v Speaker 1>Coca Cola was selling roughly ten times as much product

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<v Speaker 1>as Pepsi was selling. Desperate to steal more of Coke's

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<v Speaker 1>market share, Pepsi began trying to brainstorm a new and

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<v Speaker 1>eye catching bottle that could compete with Coke's classic curved bottle.

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<v Speaker 1>They got nowhere. Coke's bottle wasn't just visually distinctive, it

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<v Speaker 1>also resisted breakage throughout the product's life cycle from bottling

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<v Speaker 1>conveyor belts to vending machines. Enter John Scully, then a

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<v Speaker 1>new marketing executive at Pepsi. As he tells it in

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<v Speaker 1>his book Moonshot, his research showed he couldn't come up

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<v Speaker 1>with a better bottle design, but he did make an

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<v Speaker 1>interesting discovery. Pepsi drinkers were frustrated because they were always

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<v Speaker 1>running out of their favorite soda. Scully realized that he

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<v Speaker 1>didn't need a new bottle design, he needed a bigger bottle.

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<v Speaker 1>Pepsi asked chemical giant DuPont to come up with a

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<v Speaker 1>suitable material, and a year later, the plastic two litter

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<v Speaker 1>bottle was born. Customers would get more of the product

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<v Speaker 1>they wanted. Pepsi could stop competing head to head with

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<v Speaker 1>coke for a time anyway, and Pepsi would sell greater

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<v Speaker 1>volumes of its soda, which meant increased revenue. Not to mention,

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<v Speaker 1>stores wouldn't have to worry about broken glass from mishaps

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<v Speaker 1>with stockers or consumers. In a make or break marketing moment,

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<v Speaker 1>Scully met with Walmart founder Sam Walton to convince him

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<v Speaker 1>of the two Leaders merits. As he handed the product Walton,

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<v Speaker 1>Scully purposefully dropped the bottle, which bounced unbroken on the floor.

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<v Speaker 1>Walton was sold, and so was the rest of America.

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<v Speaker 1>Scully made bottling history and also rode his two Leaders

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<v Speaker 1>success all the way to becoming the CEO of Pepsi

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<v Speaker 1>and later the CEO of Apple. But okay, two leaders

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<v Speaker 1>is equivalent to about half a gallon point five to

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<v Speaker 1>eight gallons to be more precise, So why didn't scullion

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<v Speaker 1>companies sell half gallon bottles of Pepsi? Well? Since eighty six,

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<v Speaker 1>Congress had been trying to get the US to convert

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<v Speaker 1>to metric, including the Metric Conversion Act passed in nineteen five.

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<v Speaker 1>Right as Pepsi was developing their new bottle, many companies

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<v Speaker 1>thought it was just a matter of time before all

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<v Speaker 1>products became metric, but the legislation, as all metric related

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<v Speaker 1>legislation before and after, stipulated that action was voluntary. That

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<v Speaker 1>was enough to keep the rules from taking widespread effect.

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<v Speaker 1>No one can point to a single reason why. The

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<v Speaker 1>theories include that people thought the switch because they thought

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<v Speaker 1>it was somehow anti American, or that they felt more

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<v Speaker 1>comfortable with the familiar Imperial measurements, or that it would

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<v Speaker 1>have been too costly to convert existing systems and product

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<v Speaker 1>lines over and since they didn't have to switch, many didn't.

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<v Speaker 1>So milk never went metric in the United States. Due

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<v Speaker 1>to scale, location and tradition. Sodas like coke and pepsi

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<v Speaker 1>have a long shelf life and can be shipped all

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<v Speaker 1>over the world. Milk is far more perishable and typically

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<v Speaker 1>sourced from a local or regional producer. Milk has traditionally

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<v Speaker 1>been sold in the United States in pints, courts, and gallons,

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<v Speaker 1>a custom that seems destined to stay. Still, there's hope

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<v Speaker 1>yet for the metric system in America. There are many

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<v Speaker 1>products measured in metric only or primarily besides soda in

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<v Speaker 1>the US. These include wine, liquor, medications, and beauty products.

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<v Speaker 1>Among other items. However, there's still no regulatory requirement in

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<v Speaker 1>place that manufacturers must use metric, but since lots of

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<v Speaker 1>American products are sold overseas, you'll usually see both types

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<v Speaker 1>of measurements on the packaging. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on

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<v Speaker 1>this and lots of other systematic topics, visit how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio.

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