I've often idly wondered why they sell booze in fifths. ( Which are 1/5 of a gallon or 4/5 of a quart).

I had assumes that it had to do with taxes, or maybe prohibition, but I've never heard of a reason. I just did a little googling, and there didn't seem to be any help.

I'm hoping that the mega powers of fte can answer this burning question.

Thanks,

hj

 

Maybe they were 3 sheets to the wind when they made that decision.

 

Maybe so that you can hide it under your jacket easier? Or for some people maybe under their car seat? A drink for two? Easier for small hands to handle the bottle? Less to be wasted when the police catch you with an open container and they pour it out? I have 8 empties on top of my kitchen cabinets right now...

OJ

 

WikiAnswers - What year was alcohol first sold in fifths

Don't know if this helps any, but it seems to be a question that begs for an answer.

 

I found this;
Liquor/Spirits Bottles
" Transitional from the earlier squattier type bottles above to the taller narrower cylinder "fifth" shapes shown below are bottles generally shaped like that pictured to the left. This taller, narrower shape was used for spirits as well as ale/porter, wine, and likely other liquid consumables (Wilson & Wilson 1968). These types show the stylistic trend towards taller more graceful (less "squatty") forms in the mid 1800s. Typical of these bottles is the bulged or bulbous neck; later spirits styles/types were dominated by straight sided necks as discussed below. Although similar shaped American made spirits bottles can date occasionally from the late 18th century, they really began to dominate by the 1820s and 1830s. These shapes gave way to variations of the standard "fifth" bottle in popularity in the U.S. by the mid-19th century, but never actually disappeared like the earlier squat bottles above (McKearin & Wilson 1978)."

"The illustration to the right is of a "Tom Gin" bottle from the 1906 Illinois Glass Company's bottle catalog which is very similar in shape and size (1/5th gallon) to the 1850s bottle pictured above. "

So a filth goes back to at least the 1850's. Use the link to see illustrations.

 

I found this on Yahoo Answers. I have NO idea if it is true.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...3155157AAQMi7Z

 

I could find nothing to refute or verify this but it "smells" of urban legend.

 

OK, I went a different route on my search and came up with this.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...cAq14QiOra6yig

 

My Firefox doesn't like that link - interesting - someone may have embedded some malicious code on it, though - hard to say:

"Reported Attack Page!

This web page at 91.216.73.30 has been reported as an attack page and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

Attack pages try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system.

Some attack pages intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners."

 

For women.

1/4 gallon = man's size
1/5 gallon = ladies size

 

Probably just as a way to make more money, people buy a bottle thinking it's the same size it always was. 100 years later somebody on FTE is asking "WTH happened?"

Have you looked at ice cream in the last few years? It used to be a 1/2 gallon of ice cream. Now it's 1/3 of a gallon or something for the same price.

 

alright, some liquid education for you...
4 gils to 1 pint
2 pints to 1 quart
4 quarts to 1 gallon
since a "fifth" of liquor has less liquid than a quart, than a "fifth" must be 1/5 of a gallon, right? Well, A "fifth" of liquor has 750 ml which equals 25.36 oz, which is roughly 1/5 of a gallon (128 oz).


OK, I have no idea...

 

If shorebird's link is right then they've been doing this a while, so the reasons are probably no longer known. ( Similar to why do they say "dead as a doornail "-- no real answer).

Anyway, thanks for all of the fine research!

ps: I also got an attack notice on the carafe link (from Norton). Methinks somebody must have hijacked the page recently, since tseekins had no issues.

 

Tangent topic side note:
In the Louisville Kentucky area there is a bank called the "5th 3rd Bank of Louisville". It is a legitimate financial institution. I was in Louisville with some students and the name struck me as odd. We talked it over and no one could really come up with a reason for naming a bank as such, so I took the students in to a downtown branch and asked to speak to the manager (much to the horror of the high school kids) and asked her what was the deal with the name.
The story she gave me made as much sense as any scenario we had come up with: In the mid 20th century the 3rd bank of Louisville and the 5th bank of Louisville merged. Thinking that a bank called "The 3rd 5th Bank of Louisville" would have too strong an alcoholic connotation, they reversed the order of the numbers.
And now you know...................the rest of the story!

 

if memory serves correct, back in the old days when the US did not use the metric system or it people did not know how to figure the metric system out (like some of us still can not), to avoid confusion, the fifth was devised so you bought the same size container of "spirits" whether you bought domestic or imported. a fifth is the same size as a 750 ml bottle