The Many Uses of the Ball Jar – Thermos Jug

There are so many ways to use a Ball jar– as a vase, a place to put your loose change at the end of the day, a candle holder, and many more. Sometimes, however, the company determined an alternative use and was very specific.

Inside the pictured thermos is a Ball Perfect Mason amber half-gallon jar. The jar was made in 1957 at Ball's Hillsboro plant for one purpose – to be put inside a thermos bottle, specifically the Standard Jug. These amber jars were never sold as canning jars to the home canner.

The big question has always been, "Why were they made in amber?" Amber protects the contents from sunlight; however, a jar inside a thermos is completely shielded from sunlight. The only explanation is that the amber tank at Hillsboro was available at a time when none of the flint tanks were. Since these amber jars were made especially for use in the thermos and are rare, they are highly sought by collectors.

Stay tuned to learn more about other uses of a Ball jar...

Do you use Ball jars for unusual purposes? Tell us about it!