Today in 1967, US Patent 3316916 A was issued, an invention of Florian F. Dauenhauer and Thomas H. Frazer, for their “Hop Picking Machine.” There’s no Abstract, and all they say in the description is a generic the “present invention relates to improvements in a hop picking machine, and it consists in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts as hereinafter described and claimed.” Which isn’t much for such a complicated machine, but you can get a better sense of it reading through the lengthy full description.
Patent No. D357864S: Beverage Bottle
Today in 1995, US Patent D357864 S was issued, an invention of Kevin R. Rusnock and Barbara E. Lee, assigned to the Coors Brewing Company, for their “Beverage Bottle.” There’s no Abstract, but all they say in the description is that it’s an “ornamental design for a beverage bottle.” Coors also refers to it as “our new design,” but I honestly can’t see what’s unique about it, at least not in the drawing they submitted with the patent application.
Patent No. 2156951A: Can Filling Machine
Today in 1939, US Patent 2156951 A was issued, an invention of Henry Mondloch, assigned to the Hansen Canning Machinery Corp., for his “Can Filling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, but they state in the description that the “present invention relates generally to improvements in the art of packing successive batches of commodity in receptacles, and relates more specifically to improvements in the construction and operation of so-called can filling machines of the automatic type.”
Beer In Ads #1542: It Stands Out —
Friday’s ad is for Whitbread, from 1952. The illustration features an illustration of a man pouring a pale ale, and he’s wearing a very odd expression on his face, his smile seemed forced (or just plain creepy). But what strikes me as strange is a statement in the copy that “they do all their own bottling.” Was that something uncommon enough in the 1950s that they’d use it as a selling point?
Patent No. EP2172402B1: Plastic Beer Keg
Today in 2013, US Patent EP 2172402 B1 was issued, an invention of William P. Apps, assigned to the Rehrig Pacific Company, for his “Plastic Beer Keg.” There’s no Abstract, but they state in the description that the “present invention relates generally to large multiple serving beverage containers, in particular, beer kegs.” They also list 13 claims about why this invention is unique, but the main one, of course, is that these are plastic, which is far cheaper than the stainless steel ones that are used today, and are also prone to theft. It will be interesting to see if they catch on.
Old King Cole Was A Beery Old Soul
Given that today is Mother Goose Day, a day to “re-appreciate the old nursery rhymes,” I couldn’t help but point out a few beer references in Mother Goose.
But as for Mother Goose herself, you can read a lot of the other Mother Goose Rhymes and many more by letter, read her possible history and Just Who Was Mother Goose?.
Old King Cole
The usual Old King Cole goes like this:
Old King Cole
Was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe,
And he called for his bowl,
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Each fiddler, he had a fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Twee-tweedle-dee, tweedle-dee, went the fiddlers,
Oh, there’s none so rare,
As can compare
With old King Cole and his fiddlers three!
But the song takes a decidedly military turn, and these soldiers love their beer:
Now Old King Cole was a merry old soul and a merry old soul was he
He called for is pipe in the middle of the night and he called for
his Gunners three.Beer Beer Beer said the Gunners,
Merry merry men are we;
There’s none so fair as can compare with the Royal Artillery.
And the more modern version, copyrighted 1929 and as recorded by Harry Belafonte, sticks with beer:
Old King Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he
Called for his pipe
And he called for his bowl
And he called for his privates three“Beer, beer, beer”, said the privates
Merry men are we
There’s none so fair as can compare
With the Fighting Infantry
And here’s the music, too. Plus, according to Wikipedia, “the United States military also has a version in the form of a marching cadence during the 1980s and in to the present.”
Old King Cole was a merry old soul
and a merry ol’ soul was he, uh huh.
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl
and he called for his privates three, uh huh.
Beer! Beer! Beer! cried the private.
Brave men are we
There’s none so fair as they can compare
to the airborne infantry, uh huh.
There’s also quite a bit of controversy surrounding who exactly King Cole was, or even if existed. Read all about it at the Kyle Society or the StateMaster Encyclopedia.
Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard also had a beer element to it, though most people don’t know about it because it’s part of the long version, not the one we’re all used to.
Old Mother Hubbard;
Went to the cupboard,
To give her poor dog a bone;
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
And that’s where it ends for most of us, but it actually goes on for another thirteen stanzas. The fifth stanza is the following:
She went to the alehouse
To get him some beer;
When she came back
The dog sat in a chair.
You’ve go to love a world when children were let it to the reality of life. You can read the entire poem on Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes (it’s about a third of the way down on the right).
Blue Bell Boy
One of Mother Goose’s less well-known nursery rhymes, Blue Bell Boy is about a mother who gives her son, Blue Bell, various jobs to do, which she reports he did “very well.” But it turns out he’s unable to complete the final chore of the poem for one very simple reason.
He went to the cellar
To draw a little beer;
And quickly did return
To say there was none there.
You can read the whole poem on Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes (it’s about a third of the way down on the left).
Patent No. 1957083A: Apparatus For Dispensing Beer
Today in 1934, US Patent 1957083 A was issued, an invention of Frank Schneible, for his “Apparatus for Dispensing Beer and the Like.” There’s no Abstract, but the description tries to explain it, though I’ll leave it up to you if it makes a great deal of sense as described:
In another application oF the present applicant for Letters Patent of the United States for a beverage cooling apparatus, Serial No. 674,823 filed June 8, 1933, there was shown and described an apparatus particularly designed to meet the peculiar conditions which arise in the dispensing of fermented malt liquors, such as beer, in the dispensing of which conditions or” temperature and pressure must be regulated carefully. ln the apparatus so shown and described provision was for final regulation of temperature and flow in a final cooling chamber in which the beer passes on its way to the dispensing faucet through a coil or a container surrounded by a cooling medium, such as a cold brine. It has been found that some advantages reside in the use of a container, that is, as distinguished from a coil, a vessel in which there can be held a more substantial volume of the beverage to be dispensed than can be held in a cooling coil or pipe. it has therefore been the object of the present invention to devise a beverage cooling container in which it shall be possible to cool and store for a considerable period or” time a quantity of beer on its way to the dispensing faucet without any deleterious effects on the beer and by the operation of which flow or” beer can be regulated to meet the requirements of consumption and temperature. In accordance with the invention there is provided an outer shell or vessel, preferably of metal, which can be opened readily for inspection and cleaning, and an inner vessel, preferably of porcelain or glass, into which the beer is delivered from the keg or barrel, which is the source of supply, through a narrow space which separates the inner container from the outer shell and in which the beer, on its way to the inner container, is cooled through contact with the inner wall of the outer shell or vessel which is itself surrounded by the brine or other cooling medium employed. The inner container is supported within the outer shell in such manner that it may rise or fall with variation in its contents and in rising or falling may regulate the inflow of beer from the source of supply in accordance with the demands of consumption.
Patent No. 382023A: Beer-Bottling Machine
Today in 1888, US Patent 382023 A was issued, an invention of John C. Bauee, for his “Beer-Bottling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that his “invention relates to improvements in machines for filling bottles with beer or other effervescent liquid; and it consists, generally, in an automatic cut-off valve which is opened by the bottle as it is brought in contact with it, and the liquid is allowed to pass into the bottle without being exposed to the atmosphere, thereby retaining the gases which would otherwise pass off and deteriorate the liquid, and be closed and the flow of the liquid stopped when the bottle is removed.”
Beer In Ads #1541: Stick To Beer
Thursday’s ad is for the English brewer’s “Beer is Best” campaign, from 1938. The campaign began in 1933, and ran for 30 years. This one simply shows a man’s arm (wearing a suit) holding a mug of beer. The ad copy wants people to keep drinking English beer, offering several reasons why you should. “Drink beer because you like it” and “Drink beer because it’s good for you.” But whatever you do, “Stick to beer.”
Patent No. 5011037A: Container End Member
Today in 1991, US Patent 5011037 A was issued, an invention of Bruce A. Moen and Harold Cook, Jr., assigned to the Adolph Coors Company, for their “Container End Member.” This may win the prize for worst name. I understand that for industry, specific names are necessary for use in reducing confusion by the use of such jargon. For example, while the general public calls what holds a bottle sealed is a bottle cap, but within the industry it’s known as a crown. But calling the can top where it’s opened a “container end” actually seems more vague, although perhaps that really is the industry term. Anyway, here’s the Abstract:
A container end member is provided and has a first severable tab portion which is defined by a score line groove and has an integral hinge portion for permanently securing it to the container end member and a force applying tab portion permanently pivotally mounted on the container end member and used to apply a force on the first severable tab portion to form a pour opening in the container end member and a second severable tab portion having an integral hinge portion for permanently securing it to the container end member and having a raised surface projecting outwardly from the container end member so that a force may be applied thereto to sever the second severable tab portion and form a vent opening in the container end member.
