[xoxoxoBruce]

DRINKS cans are now made in dozens of sizes worldwide, depending on local needs, from 150ml up to 750ml. Before the second world war, beer in the US was filled in steel cans which used what had been a traditional size for canning peas. This held 12 fluid ounces of drink and the volume and diameter of the can was retained when the modern style of so-called "two-piece" (with a lid and a body) drinks can was introduced in the late fifties. A volume of 12oz is 355ml, and this is still the standard in the US: in Europe it was converted to the round figure of about one-third of a litre, or 330ml. Demand in Europe for bigger volumes in beer cans lead to the third larger size of 440ml and later the 500ml. Smaller sizes such as 150ml, 200 and 250ml are employed for children's drinks and mixers where bigger volumes are not required. Regional traditions influence can sizes. In Venezuela, 8oz and 10oz beer and soft-drinks cans prevailed until recently because they fitted in the local cooled vending machines.

John Nutting, Editor, The Canmaker, Crawley, W Sussex.

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