How Much Does a 2-Liter Bottle of Soda Weigh?

[Amanda Shepherd/Unsplash]

Just about any time you go into a store, you’ll see soft drinks in 2-liter bottles. Have you ever wondered how much a 2-liter bottle weighs? A full 2-liter bottle of soda weighs 4.4 pounds, but there are many other interesting facts about soft drinks.

What Are Soft Drinks?

Soft drinks are called “soft” because they don’t contain alcohol. You’ll sometimes hear alcoholic drinks referred to as being “hard.” The category of soft drinks is broad and includes an array of popular products. Some people call soft drinks “soda,” “pop,” “Coke” and even “soda pop.” Other people refer to them as carbonated beverages or fizzy drinks. 

People buy over 34 billion gallons of soft drinks worldwide every year. The United States consumes about 25 percent of all of those drinks. 

Other Equivalents for 2-Liters

You may wonder how 2 liters convert to other measurements. Two liters of liquid are equal to 0.528 gallons, or just over 1/2 gallon. It also equals 4.227 pints, 8.454 cups or 67.628 fluid ounces. 

Metric measurements are easier to convert than standard measurements. As far as other metric measurements are concerned, 2 liters are equal to 20 deciliters, 2,000 milliliters or .0002 kiloliters. 

Why 2-Liter Bottles?

Americans measure nearly everything in standard measurements. The biggest exceptions are medical measurements and competitive racing, both of which generally employ metric units. Two-liter bottles are another exception. 

Why do we use 2-liter bottles for soft drinks? The answer goes back to the 1970s, when the United States flirted with the metric system. As the metric system started to gain some steam in America, soft drink companies began to experiment with cheaper and lighter plastic bottles. Pepsi introduced the first 2-liter bottle in the 70s. The bottles quickly became popular.

The Early History of Soft Drinks

As far back as the Greek and Roman eras, people drank carbonated water for enjoyment and for what they believed to be health benefits. Natural springs that produced fizzy water became popular. The Compagnie de Limonadiers sold lemonade on the streets of Paris beginning in 1676. In the late 18th century, British and Swedish companies sold carbonated beverages.

The Growth of an Industry

As the 19th century dawned, consumers loved the supposed health benefits of carbonated mineral water. Businesses began to add flavors to carbonated water for tasty treats. Popular soft drinks Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola came about within the period of a few years in the 1880s and 1890s. 

Soft drinks became a sensation at soda fountains, where patrons would come to enjoy sweet drinks and chat with family and friends. Before long, customers wanted to take drinks home with them. This led to the growth of the bottling industry. Glass bottled soft drinks appeared in 1892. Vending machines and multi-packs of sodas followed in the 1920s. Canned soft drinks became popular in the 1950s. 

The Diet Soft Drink Revolution

Sweetened soft drinks can lead to plenty of health problems, such as tooth decay, type-2 diabetes and obesity. As Americans became more health conscious in the middle of the 20th century, soft drink companies began to make sodas with artificial sweeteners. Today, you can find soft drinks with natural or artificial sweeteners.

The Popularity of Soft Drinks

In 2016, the soft drink industry made $392.6 billion worldwide. There’s even more growth expected every year. Americans are the second-largest consumers of soft drinks per capita, with the average American drinking 154 liters a year.