Vintage Milk Delivery

About Vintage Milk Delivery

Give your memory a workout with Vintage Milk Delivery: 15 multiple-choice questions with a mix of 8 easy, 7 medium questions, free to play right in your browser. Remember when the milkman came to your door? Test your knowledge of the beloved milk delivery era! Expect to spend about 7 minutes; every question comes with an explanation, so you learn something even when you miss.

A few sample questions

1. 1. What type of container was milk most commonly delivered in by the milkman in the 1940s and 1950s?

   Answer: Glass bottles

   Milk was delivered in reusable glass bottles that were left on doorsteps. Customers would rinse the empty bottles and leave them out for the milkman to collect and return to the dairy.

2. 2. What was the small metal or wooden container on the porch where the milkman would leave bottles called?

   Answer: Milk box

   The milk box (or milk delivery box) sat on the porch or was built into the wall of the house. It kept milk cool and protected from animals until the homeowner retrieved it.

3. 3. Before homogenization became standard, what would rise to the top of a glass milk bottle?

   Answer: A layer of cream

   Before homogenization, cream naturally rose to the top of the milk bottle. Many families would pour it off for coffee or whipping, or shake the bottle to mix it back in.

4. 4. What color was the cap on a standard whole milk bottle from most dairies?

   Answer: Red

   Red caps typically indicated whole milk, while blue indicated skim milk and gold or yellow indicated buttermilk, though colors varied somewhat by dairy.

5. 5. How often did the milkman typically deliver milk to homes in the 1950s?

   Answer: Every other day or three times a week

   Most milk delivery services came every other day or three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday was common). Some busy households received daily delivery.

Things you'll learn along the way

• ✓The milkman delivered a variety of dairy products including butter, cream, eggs, cottage cheese, and sometimes orange juice, bread, and other staples.
• ✓In freezing temperatures, the cream at the top of the milk bottle would freeze and expand, pushing the cardboard cap several inches above the bottle top, creating a distinctive frozen column.
• ✓Borden's, with its famous Elsie the Cow mascot, was one of the largest dairy companies in America and operated extensive home milk delivery services throughout the mid-20th century.