Ever wonder why bottled water is in a pressured bottle, almost as if it is carbonated? That is because marketing tests revealed that people would prefer buying a bottle that was ‘taut’. It gave the impression that it was somehow more reliable if it appears that it couldn’t have been opened previously… They achieve this “carbonated” effect by dropping a small piece of frozen nitrogen into the bottle right before it is sealed. This expands upon melting, creating the “full bottle” effect. He says it’s always fun when the machine accidentally releases too much nitrogen into the bottle, ’cause it causes quite a loud popping sound (aka explosion!).

Anyways, just as a disclaimer, the nitrogen does not have any effect on the potability or purity of the water, it turns into pure gas and is dispersed when you open the bottle. And, as it is my understanding, all companies employ this method of pressurizing their bottles, so pepsi should not be thought of as “special” in terms of bottling practices (there, that probably covers my dad’s and my butts)

But I agree, we are too crazy over bottled water… and even if we want to bypass the “yuckie” preconception we have over tap water, we can always just get a britta and get a nice, fuzzy feeling that it’s there filtering our drinking water. (I rarely change my britta filter, so I’m probably just drinking straight tap water most of the time anyways! At least it serves as a nice pitcher for the tap water!)

-Topher