The job of designing and manufacturing this new bottle was given to the Root Glass Company in TerreHaute, Indiana, where Swedish-born Alexander Samuelsson was plant manager. In 1915, a heat wave caused a temporary suspension of manufacturing operations. Alexander had some spare time on his hands and decided that the bottle's appearance, like the product's name, should take its inspiration from its exotic ingredients, the coca leaf and the kola nut. Sending one of his staff to the town library to learn more about the two ingredients, legend has it that the ill-informed assistant researched the wrong item, sketching the outline of a cacao tree seed pod (from which cocoa and chocolate are made). He returned to the office with his sketches and the bottle's signature curves started to take shape on the drawing board. Examining the shape of the cacao pod, it's difficult to reconcile it with the Coke bottle's pronounced curves. Whatever; it's a good story and it's the one Coca-Cola has been telling for decades. A year later, in 1916, the bottle (which soon came to be known as the 'hobble skirt' bottle) was introduced throughout the US. It worked too, with sales soaring as the bottle's shape became intrinsically linked with feeling good. During World War II, Coca-Cola set up bottling plants overseas so troops could experience some of the familiar things from home. The net result was global awareness once peace resumed.
As with the Porsche 911, the Coke bottle's lines have been subtly tweaked and modernized over the years, but the overall shape has stayed true to its origins. The drink is now available in plastic containers, cans and paper cups, but there's nothing quite like swigging ice-cold Coke from a real glass bottle. Respected designer Raymond Loewy, who reworked the shape in 1954, claimed: "The Coke bottle is the most perfectly designed package in the world." Who's going to argue with that?