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That's so fascinating! Picture: http://preview.turbosquid.com/Preview/2014/07/11__16_24_14/Plastic_Bottle_Screw_Cap_000.jpgdc1affc5-5ad1-44ae-8cd7-2bd0f9e8142

That's so fascinating! Picture: http://preview.turbosquid.com/Preview/2014/07/11__16_24_14/Plastic_Bottle_Screw_Cap_000.jpgdc1affc5-5ad1-44ae-8cd7-2bd0f9e81428Original.jpg http://preview.turbosquid.com/Preview/2014/07/11__16_24_14/P... More discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/comments/372h8x/why_the_screw_of_plastic_bottles_have_small_gaps/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/comments/372h8x/why_th... Last weekend, on my way to the supermarket, I saw a juice bottle blocking a drain. To follow UncleBob's advice to clean as I go, I picked it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSaAMQVq01E&t=2021s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSaAMQVq01E&t=2021s I wanted to pour out the remaining orange juice for a nearby tree to get its vitamins. Pop! The cap flew off, lightly knocking off my forehead, but with much force. Thank God it didn't shoot into my eye, it was quite powerful. Although it wasn't a fizzy drink by design, the juice had fermented in the hot sun. Today I learned that there's a solution to the cap flying off, using a different design of screw thread! Thank you jfrunyon for posting this to Hacker News so we can all learn from each other :)

zimpenfish 5y ago
> The cap flew off, lightly knocking off my forehead, but with much force. I have a vague memory from the 80s of a UK consumer show ("Watchdog" or "That's Life") highlighting the dangers of opening pop bottles with your teeth because the caps could fly off and smash your teeth / soft palate etc. Not finding anything from the searches though.
- Symbiote 5y ago
  I remember some concern about bottle and jar openers without guards meaning the cap on a soda bottle could hit the user on the eye. I think my mum quietly "stole" the one my grandma had, since her grip was becoming a bit weak. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/bottle-jar-opener-made-from-rubber-on-white-background-gm1053485978-281461430 https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/bottle-jar-opener-made-fro...
erk__ 5y ago
Here is what I believe to be the original patent from 1979 as well https://data.epo.org/publication-server/document?iDocId=10310&iFormat=2 https://data.epo.org/publication-server/document?iDocId=1031...

zimpenfish 5y ago

> The cap flew off, lightly knocking off my forehead, but with much force. I have a vague memory from the 80s of a UK consumer show ("Watchdog" or "That's Life") highlighting the dangers of opening pop bottles with your teeth because the caps could fly off and smash your teeth / soft palate etc. Not finding anything from the searches though.

Symbiote 5y ago
I remember some concern about bottle and jar openers without guards meaning the cap on a soda bottle could hit the user on the eye. I think my mum quietly "stole" the one my grandma had, since her grip was becoming a bit weak. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/bottle-jar-opener-made-from-rubber-on-white-background-gm1053485978-281461430 https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/bottle-jar-opener-made-fro...

erk__ 5y ago

Here is what I believe to be the original patent from 1979 as well https://data.epo.org/publication-server/document?iDocId=10310&iFormat=2 https://data.epo.org/publication-server/document?iDocId=1031...