# Re: Why is there a "33" on Rolling Rock beer labels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 25, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503 "2007-05-25T16:59:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sofalemon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@sofalemon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sofalemon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/1 "2007-05-25T16:59:04Z")
Surely this is more to do with the bottle containing 33cl than any other reason? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/2 "2007-05-25T17:18:43Z")
33 cl in the US surely you jest. ---
**Author:** ![sofalemon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@sofalemon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sofalemon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/3 "2007-05-25T17:19:04Z")
[QUOTE=sofalemon] Surely this is more to do with the bottle containing 33cl than any other reason? [/QUOTE] Whoops - here’s the link : [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_044.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_044.html) ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/4 "2007-05-25T17:28:40Z")
I looked for an image of the back of a rolling rock bottle and this is a copy onto a beer glass. [http://www.chuckthomas.com/rrock/rrgrngla.jpg](http://www.chuckthomas.com/rrock/rrgrngla.jpg) As you can see this really has nothing to do with how much beer there is. The label is old. Long before metric units were used in the states at all let alone the meager usage they get now. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/5 "2007-05-25T21:11:56Z")
I agree that the 33-centiliter theory is highly improbable, but the metric system has been in use in the US since long before 1939. For instance, the inch has been legally defined in terms of the metric system since 1893. (1893-1959, 1" = 1/39.37m; 1959-present, 1" = 2.54cm.) ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/6 "2007-05-25T22:18:31Z")
When did they start putting metric units on beer bottles? Was it before the ill fated metric push in the seventies? ---
**Author:** ![scbmps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@scbmps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scbmps)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/7 "2007-05-27T00:30:29Z")
The best explanation I’ve heard so far is that it is a proofreader’s mark inadvertantly left on the label after production. There are exactly 33 words on the back of the label. The quotes are also a common part of the proofreader’s work, so it wouldn’t be included as part of the original design. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-is-there-a-33-on-rolling-rock-beer-labels/405503/8 "2007-05-27T14:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=scbmps] The best explanation I’ve heard so far is that it is a proofreader’s mark inadvertantly left on the label after production. There are exactly 33 words on the back of the label. The quotes are also a common part of the proofreader’s work, so it wouldn’t be included as part of the original design. [/QUOTE] Try reading the article by Cecil Adams on the subject, which is linked in the second post above. 🙂