# What's the deal with 8-ounce cans of pop?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-8-ounce-cans-of-pop/321959>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 16, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-8-ounce-cans-of-pop/321959 "2005-09-16T14:13:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-8-ounce-cans-of-pop/321959/21 "2005-09-19T22:32:54Z")

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> [@elmwood](#):
>
> Around here, though, they’re terrible deals compared to a 12-pack.
> 
> 6 8-ounce cans - $2.00 (~4.2 cents/ounce)  
> 12 12-ounce cans - $3.00 (~2.1 cents/ounce)
> 
> I think the soccer mom marketing – that the cans might be appealing to kids – sounds like the most plausable explanation. When I was a kid, back in the 1970s, the consideration of kids was all but ignored by food and beverage companies. Hell, marketing to youth just didn’t exist outside of cereal and toys back then. Now, it’s completely different.

I’m not so sure it’s a matter of the smaller cans appealing to kids. I think it’s closer to appealing to adults, perhaps to be served to kids. If my family has a barbeque, there will be numerous half-full 12 ounce cans needing to be emptied before being thrown out. Because you see, no kid will split a can of soda with another kid and pour it into 2 cups, (there probably aren’t even two kids who want the same flavor at the same time), the adults wander away and eventually don’t remember which one is theirs, or it’s grown warm and undrinkable in the meantime. By the time that’s happpened, I’ve probably ended up paying at least 4.2 cents/ounce of soda actually drunk, plus I have to empty the cans

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-8-ounce-cans-of-pop/321959/22 "2005-09-19T22:40:41Z")

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I was glad when they came out with the 1 liter bottles of coke shaped like its little brother, the 20 oz. It is just the right size for a hot summer’s day.

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-8-ounce-cans-of-pop/321959/23 "2005-09-19T22:50:48Z")

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But they’re so CUUUUTE!!

Seriously. That’s about the only reason I’ve ever been tempted to buy them instead of two-liter bottles…

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**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-8-ounce-cans-of-pop/321959/24 "2005-09-20T00:27:31Z")

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The smaller cans work well for parties, too, which is why my grandparents used to stock them. One person = one can, as opposed to one person = 2/3 of a can, which leads to odd cans and wasted soda. IIRC, they used to buy them at Smart and Final in Los Angeles, which catered to restaurants and foodservice types of businesses.

Robin

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