# Container

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Container
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Container.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container
> Source revision: 1344475559
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Receptacle for storing, packing or shipping a product

This article is about physical containers. For the standardized shipping unit, see [Intermodal container](/source/Intermodal_container). For other uses, see [Container (disambiguation)](/source/Container_(disambiguation)).

Simple containers made from [gourds](/source/Gourd) being sold for use as [calabash](/source/Calabash) in [Kenya](/source/Kenya).

Display of a woven [basket](/source/Basket) from the [Maya peoples](/source/Maya_peoples) of Mexico.

A [corrugated fiberboard](/source/Corrugated_fiberboard) box.

A [spine car](/source/Flatcar#Spine_car) with a 6 metres (20 ft) [tank container](/source/Tank_container) and an open-top [intermodal shipping container](/source/Intermodal_container) with canvas cover.

Intermediate bulk containers, commonly used in industrial settings for the handling, transport, and storage of liquids, semi-solids, pastes, or solids.

A **container** is any receptacle or enclosure for holding an item. Things kept inside a container are protected on several sides by being inside its structure. Humans have used containers for at least 100,000 years, and possibly for millions of years. Containers are used in storage, [packaging](/source/Packaging), and [transportation](/source/Transportation), including [shipping](/source/Shipping).

## Description

A container is any [receptacle](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/receptacle) or [enclosure](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enclosure) for holding an item used in storage, [packaging](/source/Packaging), and [transportation](/source/Transportation), including [shipping](/source/Shipping).[1] A container can also be considered as a basic [tool](/source/Tool),[2][3] consisting of any device creating a partially or fully enclosed space that can be used to contain, store, and transport objects or materials.

Things kept inside a container are protected on several sides by being inside its structure. The term is most frequently applied to devices made from materials that are [durable](/source/Durable_good) and are often partly or completely [rigid](/source/Stiffness). Humans have used containers for at least 100,000 years, and possibly for millions of years.

## History

Humans have used containers for at least 100,000 years, and possibly for millions of years.[4] The first containers were probably invented for storing [food](/source/Food),[4][5] allowing early humans to preserve more of their food for a longer time, to carry it more easily, and also to protect it from other animals. The development of [food storage containers](/source/Food_storage_container) was "of immense importance to the evolving human populations", and "was a totally innovative behavior" not seen in other primates.[6] The earliest containers were probably objects found in nature such as hollow [gourds](/source/Gourd),[7] of which examples have been found in cultures such as those of the [Tharu people](/source/Tharu_people),[8] and [native Hawaiian](/source/Native_Hawaiian) people.[9] These were followed by woven [baskets](/source/Basket), carved [wood](/source/Wood), and [pottery](/source/Pottery).

Containers thereafter continued to develop along with related advances in human [technology](/source/Technology), and with the development of new materials and new means of manufacture.[10] Early glass bottles were produced by the [Phoenicians](/source/Phoenicia); specimens of Phoenician [translucent](/source/Translucent) and transparent glass bottles have been found in [Cyprus](/source/Cyprus) and [Rhodes](/source/Rhodes) generally varying in length from three to six inches.[11] These Phoenician examples from the first millennium [BC](/source/Before_Christ) were thought to have been used to contain [perfume](/source/Perfume).[12] The [Romans](/source/Ancient_Rome) learned glass-making from the Phoenicians and produced many extant examples of fine glass bottles, mostly relatively small. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, sizes for retail containers such as glass bottles had become standardized for their markets.[13]

In 1810, Frenchman [Philippe de Girard](/source/Philippe_de_Girard) came to London and used British merchant [Peter Durand](/source/Peter_Durand) as an agent to patent his own idea for a process for making [tin cans](/source/Tin_can).[14] The canning concept was based on experimental [food preservation](/source/Food_preservation) work in glass containers the year before by the French inventor [Nicholas Appert](/source/Nicholas_Appert). Durand did not pursue food canning, but, in 1812, sold his patent to two Englishmen, [Bryan Donkin](/source/Bryan_Donkin) and [John Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Hall_(canner)&action=edit&redlink=1), who refined the process and product, and set up the world's first commercial canning factory on Southwark Park Road, London. By 1813 they were producing their first tin canned goods for the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy).

For transportation of goods on a larger scale, larger containers remained a problem, as customs officials inspecting imports had to deal with a lack of standardization in this field, and because predominantly wooden containers in use well into the twentieth century were prone to leaking or breaking.[13] The standardized steel [shipping container](/source/Shipping_container) was developed in the 1950s, and quickly became ubiquitous for the large-scale transportation of commercial goods.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, the introduction of [computer-aided design](/source/Computer-aided_design) made it possible to design highly specialized containers and container arrangements, and also to make form-fitting labels for containers of unusual shapes.[15]

## Modern characteristics

A number of considerations go into the design of modern containers:

The product characteristics that create utility for a container go beyond just providing shock and moisture protection for the contents. A well-designed container will also exhibit ease of use, that is, it is easy for the worker to open or close, to insert or extract the contents, and to handle the container in shipment. In addition, a good container will have convenient and legible labeling locations, a shape that is conducive to efficient stacking and storing, and easy recycling at the end of its useful life.[16]

## Variety

Practical examples of containers are listed below.

- [Ceramic](/source/Ceramic) cylindrical vessels including: - Ancient vessels such as [amphoras](/source/Amphora), [kvevri](/source/Kvevri), [pithos](/source/Pithos), and [dolia](/source/Dolium) - [Bottles](/source/Bottle), similar to a jar in being traditionally symmetrical about the axis perpendicular to its base and made of glass - [Jars](/source/Jar), traditionally cylindrical and made of glass - [Jug](/source/Jug)

- [Cylindrical](/source/Cylinder) vessels including: - [Barrels](/source/Barrel), made of wooden staves bound by rope, wooden or metal hoops. - [Cans](/source/Tin_can), traditionally cylindrical and [sheet-metallic](/source/Sheet_metal). - [Drums](/source/Drum_(container)), similar to a can but definitely cylindrical and not necessarily metallic - [Tub](/source/Tub_(container))

- [Rectilinear](/source/Rectilinear_polygon) vessels including: - [Boxes](/source/Box) - [Crates](/source/Crate), a box or rectilinear exoskeleton, designed for hoisting or loading - [Wooden boxes](/source/Wooden_box) - [Lift-vans](/source/Trolley_and_lift_van) - [Corf](/source/Corf) - [Dumpsters](/source/Dumpster) - Certain [waste containers](/source/Waste_container)

- Flexible containers including: - [Bags](/source/Bags), such as [shopping bags](/source/Shopping_bag), [mail bags](/source/Mail_bag), [sick bag](/source/Sick_bag) - [Luggage](/source/Luggage), including [satchels](/source/Satchel), [backpacks](/source/Backpack), and [briefcases](/source/Briefcase) - [Packets](/source/Packet_(container)) - [Gunny sacks](/source/Gunny_sacks), [flour sacks](/source/Flour_sack) - [Wallets](/source/Wallet)

- [Shipping containers](/source/Shipping_container), including: - [Corrugated boxes](/source/Corrugated_box), made of [corrugated fiberboard](/source/Corrugated_fiberboard) - [Intermodal containers](/source/Intermodal_container), a.k.a. ship container or cargo container - [Twenty-foot equivalent units](/source/Twenty-foot_equivalent_unit), an industry standard intermodal container size - [Intermediate bulk containers](/source/Intermediate_bulk_container) - [Unit load devices](/source/Unit_load_device), similar to a crate - [Flexible intermediate bulk containers](/source/Flexible_intermediate_bulk_container)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Soroka, W (2008). *Illustrated Glossary of Packaging Terms*. Institute of Packaging Professionals. p. 51. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-930268-27-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-930268-27-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** David P. Braun, "Pots as Tools", in J. A. Moore and A. S. Keene, eds., *Archaeological Hammers and Theories* (1983), pp. 108–134.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Karen Gayle Harry, Stephanie Michelle Whittlesey, Trixi Bubemyre, *Pots, Potters, And Models: Archaeological Investigations at the SRI Locus of the West Branch Site, Tucson, Arizona* (2005), p. 283: "The perspective taken in this chapter is that ceramic containers are tools (Braun 1983) and, as a crucial part of the technological repertoire, can provide considerable information about activity organization, production technology, food-preparation and storage technology, settlement function, and economic organization".

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Gamble_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Gamble_4-1) Clive Gamble, *Origins and Revolutions: Human Identity in Earliest Prehistory* (2007), p. 204.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** David A. Munro, *A Place For Everything* (1968), p. 92.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Bernard Grant Campbell, *[Human Evolution: An Introduction to Mans Adaptations](https://books.google.com/books?id=p-L-1BXTNLEC&q=container)* (2009), p. 306.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Chuck Groth, *Exploring Package Design* (2005), p. 3.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Sameera Maiti, *The Tharu: Their Arts and Crafts* (2004), p. 178.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Irving Jenkins, *The Hawaiian Calabash* (1989), p. 5.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-PTS_10-0)** Lewandowski, Krzysztof (2016). "Growth in the Size of Unit Loads and Shipping Containers from Antique to WWI". *Packaging Technology and Science*. **29** (8–9): 451–478. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1002/pts.2231](https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fpts.2231). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1099-1522](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1099-1522). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [113982441](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:113982441).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Perrot and Chipiez, *Histoire de l'art*, v iii, 734–744.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** George Rawlinson, *History of Phoenicia*, 1889, Green Longmans publisher, 583 pages

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Chains_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Chains_13-1) Warren Belasco, Roger Horowitz, *Food Chains: From Farmyard to Shopping Cart*, pp. 98–99.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Geoghegan, Tom (2013-04-21). ["The story of how the tin can nearly wasn't"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21689069). BBC News. Retrieved 2013-06-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Geoff A. Giles, *Design and Technology of Packaging Decoration for the Consumer Market* (2000), p. 82: "Container designers also found that shrink sleeves gave them new-found freedom to design containers that until then had been viewed as impossible to decorate".

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Anthony F. Buono, Henri Savall, *Socio-economic Interventions in Organizations* (2007), p. 231.

### Sources

- Yam, K.L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-470-08704-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-08704-6)

## External links

- Media related to [Containers](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Containers) at Wikimedia Commons

- The dictionary definition of [*container*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/container) at Wiktionary

v t e Containers Aerosol spray Aluminium bottle Aluminum can Amphora Ampoule Antistatic bag Bag Bag-in-box Barrel Basket Bin Biodegradable bag Blister pack Body bag Bottle Box Box wine Bucket Bulk box Cage Canister Carboy Carton Cartridge Case Chub Clamshell Coffin Corrugated box design Crate Desiccator Dewar flask Drum Envelope Flagon Flask Flexible intermediate bulk container Foam food container Folding carton Food storage container Garbage bag Gas cylinder Growler Gunny sack Insulated shipping container Intermediate bulk container Intermodal container Jar Jerrycan Jug Juicebox Keg Kōbako Multi-pack Nuclear flask Padded mailer Pail Paper sack Plastic bag Plastic bottle Pocket Popcorn bag Pot Pouch Pressure vessel Retort pouch Sachet Self-heating can Self-heating food packaging Shipping container Skin pack Spray bottle Square milk jug Tin can Tobacco pouch Tube Unit load Vial Wooden box Zipper storage bag Category Commons WikiProject Containers

v t e Bags and flexible containers Carried Bayong Bindle Briefcase Bug-out bag Dillybag Dromedary bag Flight bag Gaji bag Grocery bag Hambiliya Handbag Haversack Laundry bag Medical bag Money bag Nuclear briefcase Plastic shopping bag Red box (government) Reticule Reusable shopping bag Shell purse Shopping bag String bag Survival bag Swag Tote bag Tucker bag Worn Backpack (Canoe pack, Duluth pack) Bandolier bag Bivouac sack Book bag Fanny pack Golf bag Lightweight Rucksack Medicine bag Messenger bag Pack basket Pasiking Randoseru Sabretache Satchel Sporran Takiding Luggage Bug-out bag Carpet bag Diaper bag Diplomatic bag / pouch Duffel bag Garment bag Gate check bag Gig bag Gladstone bag Hobo bag Holdall Nomadic bag Norfolk case Portmanteau Saddlebag Suitcase Toiletry bag Train case Travel pack Trunk Postal Catcher pouch Mail bag Mochila Padded envelope Portmanteau Containers Antistatic bag Bag-in-box Bin bag Biodegradable bag Bota bag Coffee bag Flexible intermediate bulk container Boil-in-bag Fuel bladder Mashk Milk bag Packet (container) Paper bag Paper sack Parfleche Pastry bag Pipe bag Plastic bag Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags Reusable shopping bag Sachet Security bag Shopping bag Stand-up pouch Thermal bag Tobacco pouch Trash bag Wineskin Zipper storage bag Purses/handbags Bayong Birkin bag Coin purse Evening bag Gaji bag Gucci Diana Gucci Jackie Handbag It bag Kelly bag Kinchaku Lady Dior Messenger bag Minaudière Money bag Reticule Tote bag Wallet Wristlet Other Body bag Burn bag Cowboy bedroll Doggy bag Dry bag Electronic flight bag Feedbag Flour sack Gamow bag Gunny sack Poop bag Sandbag Showbag Sickness bag Sleeping bag Stuff sack Throw bag Zuckertüte Old bag Brown bag

v t e Packaging General topics Active packaging Child-resistant packaging Contract packager Edible packaging Modified atmosphere/modified humidity packaging Overpackaging Package delivery Package pilferage Package testing Package theft Packaging engineering Resealable packaging Reusable packaging Reuse of bottles Shelf life Shelf-ready packaging Shelf-stable Sustainable packaging Tamper-evident Tamper resistance Wrap rage Product packages Alternative wine closure Ammunition box Banana box Beer bottle Box wine Case-ready meat Coffee bag Cosmetic packaging Currency packaging Disposable food packaging Drink can Egg carton Evidence packaging Field ration Flour sack Foam food container Food packaging Fuel container Gas cylinder Glass milk bottle Growler Juicebox Low plastic water bottle Luxury packaging Milk bag Milk churn Optical disc packaging Oyster pail Popcorn bag Pharmaceutical packaging Pizza box Plastic milk container Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags Sand bag Seasonal packaging Self-heating food packaging Screw cap (wine) Single-serve coffee container Spray paint Toothpaste pump dispenser Unit dose Water bottle Wine bottle Containers Aerosol spray dispenser Aluminium bottle Aluminum can Ampoule Antistatic bag Bag-in-box Bag Barrel Biodegradable bag Blister pack Boil-in-bag Bottle Box Bulk box Cage Case Carboy Carton Chub Clamshell Corrugated box design Crate Disposable cup Drum Endcap Envelope Euro container Flexible intermediate bulk container Flexible tank Folding carton Glass bottle Gunny sack Inhaler Insulated shipping container Intermediate bulk container Jar Jerrycan Jug Keg Mesh bag Multilayered packaging Multi-pack Packet (container) Padded envelope Pail Paper bag Paper sack Plastic bag Plastic bottle Retort pouch Salvage drum Sachet Water sachet Security bag Shipping container Shipping tube Skin pack Soy sauce fish Spray bottle Squround Stand-up pouch Steel and tin cans Tetra Brik Thermal bag Tub (container) Tube Unit load Vial Wooden box Materials and components Adhesive Aluminium foil Bail handle Bioplastic Biodegradable plastic BoPET Bubble wrap Bung Cellophane Closure Coated paper Coating Coextrusion Container glass Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated plastic Cushioning Desiccant Double seam Flip-top Foam peanut Gel pack Hot-melt adhesive Humidity indicator card Kraft paper Label Lid Linear low-density polyethylene Liquid packaging board Living hinge Low-density polyethylene Meat absorbent pad Metallised film Modified atmosphere Molded pulp Nonwoven fabric Overwrap Oxygen scavenger Package handle Packaging gas Pallet Paper Paper pallet Paperboard Plastic-coated paper Plastic film Plastic pallet Plastic wrap Polyester Polyethylene Polypropylene Pressure-sensitive tape Pump dispenser Screw cap Screw cap (wine) Security printing Security tape Shock detector Shock and vibration data logger Shrink wrap Slip sheet Staple (fastener) Strapping Stretch wrap Susceptor Tamper-evident band Tear tape Temperature data logger Time temperature indicator Tinplate Velostat Processes Aseptic processing Authentication Automatic identification and data capture Blow fill seal Blow molding Calendering Canning Coating Containerization Converting Corona treatment Curtain coating Die cutting Die forming (plastics) Electronic article surveillance Extrusion Extrusion coating Flame treatment Glass production Graphic design Hazard analysis and critical control points Hermetic seal Induction sealing Injection moulding Lamination Laser cutting Molding Package tracking Papermaking Plastic extrusion Plastic welding Printing Product development Production control Quality assurance Radio-frequency identification Roll slitting Shearing (manufacturing) Thermoforming Track and trace Ultrasonic welding Vacuum forming Vacuum packaging Verification and validation Machinery Barcode printer Barcode reader Bottling line Calender Can seamer Cap torque tester Cartoning machine Case sealer Check weigher Conveyor system Drum pump Extended core stretch wrapper Filler Heat gun Heat sealer Industrial robot Injection molding machine Label printer applicator Lineshaft roller conveyor Logistics automation Material-handling equipment Mechanical brake stretch wrapper Multihead weigher Orbital stretch wrapper Packaging machinery Pallet inverter Palletizer Rotary wheel blow molding systems Seed-counting machine Shrink tunnel Staple gun Tape dispenser Turntable stretch wrapper Vertical form fill sealing machine Environment, post-use Biodegradation Can collecting Closed-loop box reuse Environmental engineering Extended producer responsibility Glass recycling Industrial ecology Life-cycle assessment Litter Packaging waste Paper recycling PET bottle recycling Plastic recycling Recycling Reusable packaging Reverse logistics Source reduction Sustainable packaging Waste management Category: Packaging

Authority control databases International GND National United States France BnF data Japan Israel Other Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Container](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.