Have fridges always had door shelves? We’re plastic milk container dimensions developed to meet the shelve width or was the fridge door designed for milk containers? Or did the two industries have a standardization for dimensions?
Fridge door shelves were (probably) designed to accomodate bottles of wine or milk, which were, in turn, designed to fit comfortably in the average human hand.
Plastic milk containers are a relatively recent phenomenon and I think they can only have been designed to fit into the fridge.
I’m amazed at the diverse clientele of this message board!
As to the OP, I think Mangetout has the dope.
The fridge shelf was supposedly (cite) invented in 1933. Well before plastic milk containers.
I suppose it serves me right to criticise someones typos, and then make one myself. Of course I meant to say that fridge door shelves were invented in 1933.
http://www.ace.be/articles/The_origin_and_development.htm
So at least milk cartons owe their dimensions to forklifts and just fit in.