The Bottle that Cannot be Refilled

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We published not long ago a quotation from one of our city papers, in which the statement was made that a large reward had been offered by wealthy distillers and brewers for the production of a new invention, such as that above mentioned, namely, a bottle which, after the contents have been extracted, cannot be again refilled. The article we alluded to stated that distillers suffer great losses from the refilling of their bottles by unauthorized persons, who imitate both bottles and trade marks of standard makers without detection. We have been unable to trace up the alleged offer of reward to any reliable source and think it doubtful if it was ever positively made. But there is no doubt the invention is needed and would command a handsome figure, if all the conditions could be realized and a non-refillable bottle could be produced adapted to the general wants of the trade. As an evidence of this we give an extract of a letter recently received by us fro II the proprietors of one of the largest whisky establishments in the country. This letter reached us during the progress of our search to find the offerers of the alleged great reward : In reply to your favor, we beg to state that we have been in the market for years for a bottle that could not absolutely be refilled ; but we have come to the conclusion that we cannot obtain such a bottle; for if a bottle was made so perfect that you could not refill same through the neck of the bottle, the bottle could be drilled or cut, and then refilled and closed so as to avoid detection.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 73 Issue 22This article was published with the title “The Bottle that Cannot be Refilled” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 73 No. 22 (), p. 338
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican11301895-338

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