Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for January 24, 2020
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
January 24, 2020: The first sale of canned beer took place 85 years ago today. On January 24, 1935, “2,000 cans of Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale” were delivered “to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia.”[1]
The idea was driven by the American Can Company. It’s initial effort to create beer cans flopped in 1909.”The cans couldn’t withstand the pressure from carbonation—up to 80 pounds per square inch—and exploded.” But they came up with a better approach just as Prohibition was coming to an end.[2]
Still, executives at the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company were skeptical. They agreed to test out the concept only after being offered a risk-free trial. If it didn’t work, Krueger’s wouldn’t have to pay for the canning process.[2]
Despite skepticism about whether consumers would accept canned beer, the innovation became an immediate success. “Within three months, over 80 percent of distributors were handling Krueger’s canned beer, and Krueger’s was eating into the market share of the ‘big three’ national brewers–Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz.”[1]
By the end of the year, 37 breweries offered the product and more than 200 million cans of beer had been sold.[1][2] Today, nearly half of the $20 billion industry’s sales come from canned beer.[1]
One reason for the early success of canned beer was that it offered several benefits to consumers. “The purchase of cans, unlike bottles, did not require the consumer to pay a deposit. Cans were also easier to stack, more durable and took less time to chill.” During World War II, “U.S. brewers shipped millions of cans of beer to soldiers overseas.”[1]
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- January 23, 2020 –78,604 homeless Americans in New York City
- January 22, 2020 –3 tech companies valued at over a trillion dollars
- January 21, 2020 –334 more Americans died from alcohol than drug overdose
- January 20, 2020 –18 minutes for Martin Luther King Jr. to deliver “I Have a Dream Speech”
- January 17, 2020 –19 counties in 5 states may face legal action over inaccurate voter registration
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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