this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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[–] zeet@lemmy.world 67 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

618ml equates exactly to 600ml + 3% - maybe manufacturers add 3% on top because that's the maximum allowable variance in quantities?

From a quick search, 412ml and 515ml both seem pretty common too.

[–] ILikeBasil@lemmy.world 38 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I think you're on the right track. My guess would be that they have a 3% tolerance (uncertainty, idk) with filling so they fill 600 ml but statistically it might be as much as 618. Putting 618 on the packaging lowers the price per liter a little, compared to 600.

[–] kirklennon@kbin.social 27 points 2 years ago (3 children)

This seems backwards from what a manufacturer would want to do. The concern with variances isn’t really having too much but having too little in the bottle. If you aimed to put exactly 600 in the bottle, you will sometimes end up below 600. It would make more sense to label it 600, aim for 618, and be confident that you’ll always fill it to at least the advertised 600.

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 8 points 2 years ago

That all depends on what they're optimizing for. Underfilling is more profitable, but runs the risk of customer complaints and regulators stepping in.

[–] rbhfd@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Exactly. In Europe for example, you see the stylized "e" symbol on packaging very often. It means that a negligible amount are below the advertised volume/weight.

So if the package says 600ml, they might have to set the machine to 610ml to ensure they satisfy this condition.

[–] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 3 points 2 years ago

Isn't that e for net weight. So it doesn't include the container. At least that's what I've been led to believe, so now I'll be googling!

[–] stammi@feddit.de 0 points 2 years ago

Maybe they have one machine set up to fill the bottles. In one market they are required to deliver a safety margin of 3%. So they put 618 in a 600 bottle. In the other market there is no such requirement. So they write 618 on the bottle.

[–] zzzzzz@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 years ago

This is pretty compelling. I vote "solved".

[–] Nemo@midwest.social 28 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I thought initially it must be a round number of flounces, but it's closer to 21 than 20floz, so IDK.

[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] Mr_Blott@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

Lambs definitely flounce when they're happy

[–] ares35@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

618ml is 21.75 fl oz in the UK (imperial).

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (3 children)

How does this not stress you out, Americans?

[–] SeaJ@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago

We don't have things in that size. You'll see drinks in 20 oz (568 ml) or 12 oz (355 ml). And naturally for larger size sodas, we have 1L and 2L bottles. The 20oz drinks may have shrunk to 16.9oz (500 ml) though. As for other stuff like shampoo or sunscreen? Those are determined by a random number generator.

Nothing stressful at all about the system.

[–] Nemo@midwest.social 2 points 2 years ago

We don't use Imperial. We have our own system, US Customary. And our ounces are fractionally bigger.

[–] Deconceptualist@lemm.ee 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

25 years ago we had to memorize conversions and use a calculator (some calculators included a "cheat sheet"). It was 2 extra steps (convert to metric, do any needed math, convert back) but pretty routine once you got the hang of it.

Since then we've had Wolfram Alpha and a ton of unit converter smartphone apps. Even a basic Google query can convert most units.

[–] Thavron@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

And yet it's still more convenient that without Google, I can just go: 1 liter of water is 1 kilogram, 1000ml, and contained by a box of 10 x 10 x 10 centimetres. It will start freezing at 0CΒ° and start boiling at 100CΒ°.

(0.264172 US gallons of water is approximately 2.205 pounds, 33.814 fluid ounces, and contained by a box of approximately 3.937 x 3.937 x 3.937 inches. It will start freezing at 32Β°F and start boiling at 212Β°F.)

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 3 points 2 years ago

Yes, everyone knows metric is nicer. But it's just not an issue at all in day to day life. How often do you need to know the weight of a certain volume of water or the edge length of a cube that exactly contains that much water? For temperatures, everyone memorizes 32 and 212 as a small child and never had to worry about looking it up.

Would I rather use metric? Sure. But when almost everything is labeled in US units, all the advantages of metric pale in comparison to the hassle of having to convert almost every single measurement I encounter.

[–] Deconceptualist@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

I'm not disagreeing at all, I would totally back a nationwide switch to 100% metric. But I'm also trained in science where it's the standard, and don't really do any carpentry or auto repair where US units are still (I think) the norm.

[–] athos77@kbin.social 19 points 2 years ago

What country are you in, OP?

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Huh. I put 618ml in Google and hit "shopping" filter and only one item comes up in that size, a hair cream somewhat ominously named Fakeshu.

[–] zero_spelled_with_an_ecks@programming.dev 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Unlike the completely unominous sham poo that is also used in hair.

[–] loobkoob@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I prefer real poo, personally.

[–] tacosplease@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

It's organic after all

[–] 1847953620@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] Devi@kbin.social 9 points 2 years ago

Do you perhaps mean 568ml? It's a pint and beer quite commonly comes in that size. Some water, like liquid death comes in that size, and I've just googled and so does shampoo.

[–] kambusha@feddit.ch 8 points 2 years ago

Which country?

I think the other commenter is on the right track and it's likely a conversion from another standard unit. I would've said pint but a pint is 568ml.

[–] yads@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 years ago

Possibly started with a different volume then through shrinkflation ended up at 618 mL

[–] otter@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 years ago

If all those different products, with different shapes containers, have the same number then I'm not sure

But I do sometimes see things like shampoo coming in weird sizes because of the shape of the bottle

[–] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

Working at a store, you can rest assured that number will get smaller in a year or less. I've caught dozens of products getting smaller but costing the same.

[–] TMarkos@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

It's rather close to 1/6 of a US gallon, so if sold in a 6pk the pack would be 1 gallon. No idea if that's the real reason but it makes sense to me.