Beer bottle caps worldwide have exactly 21 ridges, a design originating in 1892 by inventor William Painter. This number represents an optimal balance that ensures a strong, airtight seal to keep beer fresh and fizzy while remaining easy to open and durable enough for high-speed manufacturing.
The classic beer bottle cap—also known as the crown cork—was invented by William Painter in 1892. He painstakingly experimented with different ridge counts to balance sealing strength and manufacturing efficiency. Too few ridges led to weak seals and leakage, while too many made the cap fragile and difficult to open.
Painter found that 21 ridges struck the perfect balance: it was enough to create a reliable airtight seal preserving carbonation and freshness, yet flexible enough to be pried open cleanly. This exact number also ensured smooth operation on high-speed bottling lines that require exact uniformity to avoid jams, preserving production efficiency and minimizing costs.
Inside the metal cap is a plastic or cork liner, compressed evenly by the 21 ridges to maintain the seal. This design innovation revolutionized beverage packaging, enabling the mass distribution of bottled beer without quality loss.
More than 130 years later, the 21-ridge cap remains an industry standard globally, symbolizing a simple yet brilliant engineering solution that has stood the test of time.
Source: News18, Instagram posts by design experts, Wikipedia