Soda’s and Beer came in Glass bottles. Soda bottles were as small as 6 ounces. The soda was much different tasting back then. It used a slightly different formula, less sugar, and made from cane syrup, instead of corn syrup.
Then out came the cans. Cans back then didn’t have a pop top. Nope. They were solid on top, and the way you opened them was a cool little device. On one end of the device, you could open a bottle and the other would poke a hole in the top of the can so you could drain out the goodness inside.
The first pop tops invented were pull tabs. They were clumsy, but they obviated the need to carry around (or worse, forget) your can/bottle opener. At big parties, a permanently mounted device was installed on a table. you could set your can inside this device and pull down on its handle. It would poke two holes in the top of the can on either side. Remember you had to have openings either across the middle of the can or on the other side to get it to flow out.
Some bottles today still require opening with a bottle opener, and of course, you would have a permanent bottle opener in many kitchens for the easy open. But, all bottles in the old days required a ‘machine’ to open.