Earl R. Dean (March 19, 1890 – January 8, 1972) designed the famous contour
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
bottle.
In 1914,
Harold Hirsch
Harold D. Hirsch (October 19, 1881 – September 25, 1939) was a student at the University of Georgia from 1898 to 1901 who also played football for his alma mater. After graduation from the University of Georgia, he studied law at Columbia Unive ...
, a lawyer for
the Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...
, came up with a plan to launch a national competition in which bottle manufactures across the country would be asked to design a distinctive bottle – a bottle which a person could recognize even if they felt it in the dark, and so shaped that, even if broken, a person could tell at a glance what it was.
The bottle manufacturer that won this competition was the
Root Glass Company of
Terre Haute, Indiana. Inspired by a picture of a
cocoa pod which was found in an encyclopedia at the
Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library
Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library is located in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was built in 1906 by the Modern Construction Company of Terre Haute. The building is in the Beaux Arts architectural style.
The Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library played an ...
, Earl R. Dean made a pencil sketch of the pod. From this sketch, Dean designed the contour bottle
prototype. The prototype never made it to production since its middle diameter was larger than its base. According to Dean, this would make it unstable on the conveyor belts. Dean then equalized the middle and bottom diameters and the Contour Coca-Cola Bottle was born.
References
Further reading
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External links
ContourBottle.comA tribute to Earl R. Dean - Facts about the creation of Coca-Cola's Contour bottle.
American industrial designers
Coca-Cola people
1890 births
1972 deaths
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