Heineken World Bottle: Green Means More than the Color of the Bottle.
This 1950s design for stackable beer bottles was the brainchild of Alfred Heineken, of beer fame. As the story goes, Heineken was strolling along by the sea in Jamaica, and was shocked at the number of beer bottles littering the beach. He was also concerned with the lack of cheap building materials, and at the resulting living conditions for the poor. Putting two and two together, he envisioned a "World Bottle" which would be imported for drinking but kept for construction. A 10' x 10' shack would take approximately 1000 bottles to build, but the Jamaican tourist industry would likely supply plenty. In addition, glass (and air) are good insulators, though the humid and hot Jamaican climate may not require insulation per se. A unique feature was that the short bottle neck would t into a depression in the bottom of each bottle. Ultimately though, the idea was either (according to di erent accounts) voted down by the Heineken board, or vetoed by the bottle companies and the customers. Not much information is available on the World Bottle today, but there have been other attempts to make interlocking "bottle bricks", even of plastic.
Reference:
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/11/heineken-wobo-the-brick-that-holds-beer/
