There is nothing more satisfying than finding a delicious Codd Marble....except a rainbow multi perhaps (which still eludes me!)
If you have been lucky enough to find one of these, absolutely delightful pieces of sea glass, you will understand the joy it brings. There is something magical about how they glow from within and I adore them for so many reasons, especially their story of invention.
The Codd Marble bottle was an iconic invention of the late 1800s...yes it's those Victorian's again. The Codd bottle was introduced in 1872 by Hiram Codd an inventor. Hiram Codd was actually working for a manufacturer of corked bottles. At the time corks were great for sealing still liquids but there were many problems with the use of corks and bottle stoppers for the emerging popular carbonated drinks market, sarsaparilla, dandelion & burdock, lemonade etc. The glass bottles used to the fizzy liquids couldn't expand with the gas so would explode, a problem indeed. Ironically, Hiram Codd's invention of the Codd bottle would see the end of the cork manufacture he was employed by.
The design of the bottle featured a glass marble, within a pinched neck, to keep the liquid from spilling out but crucially the marble allowed the expelling of excess cardon dioxide, keeping the drink fizzy AND free from explosions.
The Codd bottle was widely used in the UK until 1930s and are still produced in India and Japan today.
Many Codd marble bottles never stayed intact as most were smashed by children to play with the marbles inside. In certain areas of the UK, near old codd bottle production sites and where old smugglers pubs/taverns are right on the beach, the marbles can be found washed up the beaches (like the ones above).
Now, what about the word 'Coddswallop'? Interestingly, this was a word that was created as a result of the Codd bottle. As the Codd bottle held non-alcoholic carbonated drinks the alcoholic beer, wine and whiskey swilling individuals used the term a derogatory for somebody that didn't drink alcohol. A 'Coddswallop' was thought to be a person that lacked real substance and hence 'what a load of Coddswallop!' meant what a load of rubbish!
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