My First Soda Bottle

When I started telling people that I was collecting soda cans, someone offered me a lot of soda bottles.  I had to turn them down, one collection at a time is enough!  And when I go to flea markets or antique shops, there aren't a lot of cans usually but there are a lot of bottles.  But I have resisted.

While at my sister's today, I was taking a tour of her tornado-damaged shed and noticed a dirty bottle on one of the shed's shelves.  I scraped off some of its crust and saw it was an old Nehi soda bottle.  She had found it among the trash scattered across her many acres of land when she bought the place.  She asked if I wanted it.  This time I had to accept.


I really have no plans, or desire, to start collecting bottles, but I felt this was a good piece to add to my collection anyway.

A Cache of Cans (part 2)

As if today's can expedition to the flea market wasn't enough (see the post below this one), I decided this was a good evening to return to the can cache I found earlier this week in an alley.  But this time I would go alone.  And I had collected a bag of cans (doubles, dented, etc) that I didn't need, so this time I would replace any cans that I took.

Again, I knocked on his door to let him know I was there, and again he wasn't there.  So I had to talk to his wife again.  I can only imagine what she was thinking, especially when I told her I brought cans to replace any that I took.  "Whatever."

When I got back to his garage, that's when I saw that he doesn't have a few trash cans but about a dozen full of cans!  How long has he been collecting cans?  And how long was this going to take me?  I was able to get through every tub and trash can in about an hour.  And tonight's take was a whopping sixty-one cans that I didn't have!!!  Maybe some day I'll actually get to talk to him and thank him for his contributions to my collection.

My First Steel Cans

You just don't find steel cans lying on the side of the road or see your friends/family drinking from them any more.  So I have only collected aluminum cans so far.  But that changed today when we went to a local monthly flea market.  This was the first time I had been to this particular flea market since I started collecting cans.  And it's SO big that I figured there had to be cans there somewhere.

The first soda can I found for sale was a little flat top can whose top had been completely removed.  I really wanted it because it came from the city where I was born, about an hour from where I live now.  But when he told me he wanted $10 for it, I kept on walking.

My second encounter was a set of twenty-four RC Cola baseball player cans from the 70's (series 1 came out in 1977 and series 2 came out in 1978, I didn't know enough about them at the time so I didn't notice which series they were).  The guy wanted $30 for them.  I kept walking, but I was still thinking about them.  I decided if he would take $25 I would take them off his hands.  A little while later I returned to him and said, "How about $25?"  He replied, "How about $35?  If you can go down then I can go up."  He wasn't funny.  He proceeded to tell me he usually asks $45 so at $30 he was giving them away.  But not to me.  I walked away.  Update - In the weeks to come I would get a much better deal on RC Cola baseball cans, but that's another story...

My first three steel cans

I found another stand that had a little bit of everything, and buried among the everything was a steel Dad's Root Beer can, a steel Mission Root Beer can and a steel IBC Root Beer can.  Each was $1, now that's a price I was willing to pay.  It felt strange holding a heavy, steel can.  It's hard to remember ever drinking from cans like that, I'm so used to the light aluminum cans we have now.  And seeing the familiar shape of the hole where the pull top had been removed stirred up some memories.  I have a feeling this is just the beginning of steel cans in my collection.

My First eBay Can Purchase

When I decided to collect soda cans last month, the plan was to ask for cans from friends and family (since our household doesn't really drink soda), pick them up along the sides of the road or possibly stumble into caches of cans at family reunions, parks or other places I visit.  This was going to be a fun and free hobby.

So I just received my first eBay can purchase today.  Oops.  But I couldn't pass these up, check 'em out.  Back in the summer of 1987, Detroit was chosen as a test market for an alternative to the aluminum soda can... the plastic soda can.  The advantage of the plastic can was that plastic is simple to recycle.  But the disadvantage to this plastic can design was that it still had an aluminum lid, thus making recycling actually harder because the metal had to be separated from the plastic.

But for that summer, the people of Detroit could enjoy five New York Seltzer soda flavors:  black cherry, lemon & lime, peach, raspberry and root beer.  The plastic can concept was soon abandoned and the New York Seltzer soda discontinued. 

So last weekend I found an auction that had all five flavors of New York Seltzer soda in plastic cans.  I hit the purchase button and knew my collection would forever be different.  I received the cans today.  They did not disappoint.  And they weigh even less than I expected.

You can read a Los Angeles Times article about the cans here.

A Cache of Cans

Last night on the way to my kids' softball and tee ball games, they saw an alley they've never been down and wanted me to take it as an alternate route to the ball fields.  I said we would go down the alley on the way home.  So after the games, I took them down the alley.  And what did I see lying next to a garage in that alley?  A couple of tubs of soda cans.  I have known the guy who lives there for many years.  I stopped and did a quick look through a few cans and saw some I didn't have.  I grabbed eight cans and we headed home.  Remember, kids, it's wrong to steal!

I had to get back there.  So tonight, after my son's tee ball game, we went down the same alley.  This time I knocked on the guy's door to ask if I could look through his cans.  I knew he wouldn't mind, but I wanted him to know I was there.  Well, he wasn't home, so I had to ask his wife (who I've never met before) if I could dig through her husband's cans.  She gave me a strange look but said it was ok.  Not only were there the tubs but also some large trash cans full of aluminum cans.  I was having a great time but my son wasn't as thrilled.  And then he spoke the dreaded words, "I have to go to the bathroom."  So that ended tonight's digging.  Tonight's take was seventeen cans. 

I was able to get through the tubs and a few trash cans, but I know there are more cans to be had, so I will be back...

Holy Moly! Where Did You Get That Can?

I was at the park a few weeks ago with the kids and I found a Diet Coke can I didn't have.  It was the normal silver can but it showed a guy holding a large white flag with a red heart on it.  The only problem was the can was dented up pretty good.  But my view on damaged cans is it's better to have a damaged can of a new design than not have the design at all.  Plus, I have replaced many damaged cans later with cans in better condition.  So I'm always watching for "upgrades" in addition to new cans.

So this morning in Sunday School I noticed an elderly woman drinking from a can of Diet Coke.  I turned on my Eagle Eye and waited for the can to turn its other side to me so I could see exactly which design it was.  Finally she set it down and I could see the man holding the big white flag with a red heart on it... an undented specimen!  I continued to monitor the woman's progress on the soda out of the corner of my eye throughout the class.  At the end of the class, I stalled by talking to a couple of people, waiting to see what would become of the can.  And then I saw her throw it away in a nearby trash can.  That can was as good as mine.

*COUGH*    *COUGH*
"I need a drink of water," I whispered to my wife during the church service about forty-five minutes later.  So I strolled down to the basement, scouting the area for unknowing passersby, and took a drink from the fountain.  No one was around.  I bolted to the trash can, reached in and pulled out today's treasure.  I took it to the nearby kitchen and washed it real good, then made a quick dash to the van parked outside.

"Ah, I feel better now," I whispered to my wife as I sat back down in the pew.  She smiled and I smiled back, knowing I had just scored a nice upgrade!

My First Shorty

I have picked up cans from different towns, even as far as an hour away where I work.  So when I saw a can earlier this evening just two blocks from my house, it gave me the impression that cans were finally coming to me. 

[side story:  The closest I have found a can to my house was in the alley behind my back yard.  I was at the kitchen sink one morning and I looked out across the yard and there lay a glorious Dr Thunder can glinting in the sunlight.  I quickly grabbed it before anyone else did.]

The kids were with me when I found this evening's can.  The end of it was stuck down in some mud on the side of the road, but I could tell it was a root beer can.  But to my surprise, when I pulled it from the mud, it was a short 8 oz. can.  I knew there were smaller soda cans, but I had never held one before.  So we took the new find home, gave it a good bath, and it was the first of many 8 oz. "stubbies" to come.

Walmart brand root beer

Thor

While driving today I found my first movie promotion soda can on the side of the road.  It is a Dr Pepper Thor can.  I went to the Dr Pepper website and found there are six cans in the Thor collection.  How much effort will I put into completing the collection?  I'm not sure.  We don't drink much soda in our household, so I doubt we'll be buying the cans.  And how hard will it be to find them all in this area?  Do they only release certain cans in certain parts of the country to make it hard to collect?  Only time will tell.

Thor - Warriors III - Sif

June 20 Update - I just received the sixth can in my Thor collection, I am finished with that!  Here's how the collection process went:

* Can 1, April 17 - Thor (Dr Pepper) - I found it on the side of the road
* Can 2, April 30 - The Warriors III (Diet Dr Pepper) - I found it on the side of the road
* Can 3, May 21 - Sif (Diet Dr Pepper) - An antique shop we visited had a fridge with sodas for sale, I saw the Sif can which I didn't have yet and paid $.75 for it
* Can 4, May 31 - The Destroyer (Dr Pepper) - I found it a block from my house on the side of the road
* Can 5, June 11 - Loki (Cherry Dr Pepper) - I made an eBay purchase where I got to pick which 24 cans I wanted from the seller's collection, so this is one of the cans I chose
* Can 6, June 20 - Heimdall (Cherry Diet Dr Pepper) - That same eBay seller finally put a Heimdall can up for sale, so I bought it from him to complete my collection

The Destroyer - Loki - Heimdall

Whew!  Although I didn't put a whole lot of effort into completing the collection, I'm not interested in trying to complete another movie tie-in any time soon.  Oh wait, I just bought the first Captain America can two days ago.  Here we go again...

Combat Cooler

I have had this can of Combat Cooler lemon drink since the early 90's.  It was given to me by a friend in the National Guard for my meager can collection at the time.  Unfortunately, all of my other cans from that time have either been thrown away or lost, this is the only one that has survived.  In fact, until today, the can was still full.  I have adopted the practice of emptying all of my cans to prevent any kind of leakage in the future that could cause problems during storage or while on display.

For all these years, I thought it was just a novelty item sold at the PX.  But now I have done some research online to see what the story is behind this drink.  Although information is scarce, I was able to find out a little bit about it.  A 1991 New York magazine article mentions Combat Cooler Corporation was releasing carbonated electrolyte replacers in the form of orange and lemon-lime Thirst Quenchers in camouflage cans.  Bingo!  So this was an actual brand of soft drink.  There is even a Combat Cooler commercial on YouTube.  I also found a pictures of Combat Cooler Cola and Orange.

So although it must have been a relatively obscure product, it was a real brand after all.

My First Can (This Time Around)

I started collecting soda cans a few times while growing up.  I had a couple of brown paper grocery bags full of cans when I was a teen, but they got pitched.  I had a set of four crazy Pepsi cans from 1990, they are now missing.  For some weird reason, when I see soda cans from the 70's and 80's I think of my childhood and growing up. 

For the last week or so, I have been tossing around the idea of collecting as many different soda cans as I can.  But do I want to commit to something like that?  Will I lose interest and have a couple bags of cans just taking up space in the garage?  Where will I get the cans if I attempt this?  Our family doesn't really drink soda.

My first can

At work this morning I decided to go for it after seeing the half-empty Diet Pepsi can that has been sitting on top of the water heater for a couple of years.  I think it got a hole in its side from the soda machine in the break room and when someone bought it, they set it on the water heater to wait for it to quit squirting.  And there it still sat! 

After cleaning the can up, I set an immediate goal of having 100 different cans, a long-term goal of 250 cans, and a life-long goal of 500 cans.  Which of those goals will be my limit?  I should be able to hit the first goal but the second goal will take quite some time.  And 500 cans seems near impossible unless I just buy a bunch, but I have no intention of doing that.

The hole in my first can

So, by far the prettiest or rarest for my first can, it is nonetheless what has started it all again.