The Coke Bottle Game

Back in the days before two liter bottles and aluminum cans, soft drinks came in glass bottles. The most iconic of all was the trademark green contoured bottle of Coca-Cola.

It even came with an imprint, on the bottom, telling the consumer where the beverage was produced.

When I was a little shaver, my dad told me about how he would play a guessing game with some of his friends; a 20 Questions sort of countdown. The goal, when the pals were enjoying a Coke, was to determine the name of the city and state listed on the bottle of his counterpart.

Getting one of those bottles of pop was always a treat. It was especially fun to get an ice cold soda from one of the machines where you pulled the drink out of a slot yourself. You just had to be sure not to hurt yourself. The ribbed edge around the perimeter of the bottle cap could smart a smidge.

When our ones were growing up, we introduced the game to them as well. Usually, this discussion would take place around the holidays when we’d buy a six-pack of the bottled Cokes. We’d all enjoy one and leave one for Santa to enjoy during his visit to our place on Christmas Eve.

In any case, Lisa and I realized this was a great way for us to teach Holly and Paul some geography (which, as an aside, was always one of my favorite school subjects). Everyone had so much fun that we expanded the game and made it a part of our travel tricks to occupy young ones in the car who might be prone to ask “Are we there yet?”

In our modified version of the game, the ‘questioner’ would think of the name of a fairly major U.S. city and state and then the other three would, in rotation, begin asking a series of “What’s My Line” style of yes/no questions to try to determine the location. Here are some sample questions:

• “Is it located in an Atlantic Coast state?” (or the opposite - a Pacific Coast state)
• “Is it in Tennessee or a state touching Tennessee?”
• “Is it situated in a state any one of us has visited in the last year?”

You see the pattern.

Sometimes, the three contestants would guess the name right away; on other occasions we were stumped. In any case, I always thought it was a creative way for us to teach Holly and Paul the locations of such cities as Boise, Idaho; Tuscon, Arizona or Burlington, Vermont. The game also provided some diversion and produced a team-like camaraderie.

I can’t tell you how many times we have played “The Coke Bottle Game” over the years.

I will say that I don’t remember it coming up this year during the holidays as we renewed our tradition of purchasing the six pack and leaving one for the Jolly Old Elf. 

Still, I have to say, as always, the soda from the bottles is always the best.

JG

Originally posted 1/15/2014