# Those "Soda" Bottles from the Silent Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495 "2014-10-05T23:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Simple\_Mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Simple\_Mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Mind)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/1 "2014-10-05T23:20:50Z")
I just watched a silent movie where the actors were fooling around with soda bottles and wetting each other with the content. First question is, what was the propellant? Second question, why don’t we have them anymore? Third question what where they used for when not fooling around? Anymore information, like how to get or make one would be appreciated. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/2 "2014-10-05T23:25:03Z")
They’re still available. Look for “seltzer bottles.” ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/3 "2014-10-05T23:26:23Z")
A [Soda Syphon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_syphon)? ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Simple\_Mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Mind)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/4 "2014-10-05T23:34:51Z")
Thanks for that link, it does explain some things but not how and what they used to have them refilled at the time, I am not interested in the modern ones with the CO2 cartriges. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/5 "2014-10-05T23:41:34Z")
The Three Stooges sprayed those at each other all the time. 🙂 As Wikipedia noted, they were popular before the rise of bottled carbonated beverages and CO[sub]2[/sub] tanks behind bars. Now you can buy soda water in cans and bottles at supermarkets everywhere. And every bar has a CO[sub]2[/sub] tank on the premises. They were used by people who wanted carbonated water to mix with spirits such as bourbon or Scotch. As in a “bourbon and soda” or “Scotch and soda.” ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/6 "2014-10-06T00:08:27Z")
I grew up in New York City in 50’s and 60’s. It was common to see a truck full of refillable seltzer bottles making deliveries to homes. Just like the milkman, but not as early. They would deliver full bottles and take the empties back to be washed and refilled. They may have delivered club soda as well as seltzer but I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/7 "2014-10-06T00:35:02Z")
_“A little song, a little dance, A little seltzer down your pants!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Simple\_Mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Mind)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/8 "2014-10-06T00:55:57Z")
Factual answers I am looking for, thanks for the anecdodes… ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/9 "2014-10-06T00:56:56Z")
> [@Simple\_Mind](#): > > Thanks for that link, it does explain some things but not how and what they used to have them refilled at the time, I am not interested in the modern ones with the CO2 cartriges. Ones that use CO2 cartridges have been around for a long time. Some siphons, however, were just pre-filled at the factory and either thrown away when empty, or returned to the factory for re-cycling. The propellant (if you haven’t figured it out yet) is simply the pressurized CO2 dissolved in the water. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/10 "2014-10-06T01:11:45Z")
> [@Simple\_Mind](#): > > Factual answers I am looking for, thanks for the anecdodes… You’ve been getting factual answers. Try reading for comprehension. Seltzer bottles are powered by CO2 cartridges. They have been around for over a century. They were and are used for fizzy drinks, like scotch & soda. You can buy them anywhere, and CO2 cartridges are available even in sporting goods stores. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/11 "2014-10-06T01:22:47Z")
Here’s a place that [still sells the old-fashioned kind](http://www.brooklynseltzerboys.com/faqs/). They are not very explicit about it but it looks like they deliver fully charged, sealed bottles. No CO[sub]2[/sub] cartridges involved. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/12 "2014-10-06T01:37:25Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You’ve been getting factual answers. Try reading for comprehension. Seltzer bottles are powered by CO2 cartridges. Not the ones the OP is talking about. Here is a video of [some vintage seltzer bottles;](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En-wRA1N8Nk) no CO2 cartridges required. They are refilled at a bottler and injected with water and CO2 through two holes in the top. When they are empty, they were returned to the bottler, who refilled them. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/13 "2014-10-06T01:39:02Z")
Cool. Consider me edumacated. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/14 "2014-10-06T02:30:13Z")
Seltzer boy Where are you hiding If you don’t come right now I’m gon’ tell you boss on you Oy. Don’t bring me water I rather have seltzer 'Cause water don’t bubble And water don’t fizz ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/15 "2014-10-06T02:34:45Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Seltzer boy > Where are you hiding > If you don’t come right now > I’m gon’ tell you boss on you > > Oy. > > Don’t bring me water > I rather have seltzer > 'Cause water don’t bubble > And water don’t fizz Thanks, Allan. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Simple\_Mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Mind)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/16 "2014-10-06T05:35:50Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Here’s a place that [still sells the old-fashioned kind](http://www.brooklynseltzerboys.com/faqs/). They are not very explicit about it but it looks like they deliver fully charged, sealed bottles. No CO[sub]2[/sub] cartridges involved. Thanks a lot, now I have the problem not being in Brooklyn NY but in the central Visayas in the Philippines, I have access to CO2 that I can get in a cylinder to charge my 22" Airgun, can I build something like a “Selzerbottle” with the help of a Schrader valve and a PET soda bottle? Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/17 "2014-10-06T09:02:06Z")
Here is a [linky](http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Retro-1970s-Sparklets-Hostmaster-Green-Metallic-Soda-Syphon-Siphon-FWO/151413225916?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25291%26meid%3D746e7b2bbe1749ba9c00e39c9d8082ab%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10621%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D191339510345&rt=nc) to a rechargeable one for sale on ebay. We had these when I was a kid, but I think that the little disposable CO2 cylinders, were fairly expensive. The same seller has them at about dollar each. [gas cartridge](http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-8g-Soda-Syphon-Cartridges-Co2-Gas-Box-of-10-for-Retro-Vintage-Soda-Siphons-/161383307353?pt=UK_Collectables_Breweriana_SM&hash=item259331d859) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/18 "2014-10-06T11:22:19Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The Three Stooges sprayed those at each other all the time. 🙂 > > As Wikipedia noted, they were popular before the rise of bottled carbonated beverages and CO[sub]2[/sub] tanks behind bars. Now you can buy soda water in cans and bottles at supermarkets everywhere. And every bar has a CO[sub]2[/sub] tank on the premises. They were used by people who wanted carbonated water to mix with spirits such as bourbon or Scotch. As in a “bourbon and soda” or “Scotch and soda.” Wait, when I order a scotch and soda I’m NOT supposed to tell the bartender what kind of soda I want? 'cos I usually ask for Orange Crush. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/19 "2014-10-06T13:01:36Z")
I can’t get to their website from work (for some reason, they think it’s not work-related…) but Williams Brewing has all things beverage-related for sale (not just homebrewing). I haven’t checked lately, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they sold home seltzer kits. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495/20 "2014-10-06T13:29:33Z")
There was an article many years ago in the _American Heritage Magazine of SCience and Technology_ about those seltzer bottles. They were refilled _through the spout_ (which I would not have expected) using a special machine, of which one was still operating in the NYC metropolitan area when the article appeared. The bottle was filled with already carbonated water under pressure. I don’t know if that machine (ancient even then, in the 1980s) is still operating, or if someone has changed over to a more efficient method of making and charging seltzer bottles for the trade (as I expect). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-soda-bottles-from-the-silent-movies/700495.md?page=2)