Why does liquor come in fifths? —AA OCD

Readers sometimes complain that “Dr. Know” should be called “Dr. Doesn’t Know but Will Google It.” I resent the implication that I merely regurgitate the results of web searches anyone could perform. (I don’t deny it, but I resent it.) You might suppose that this week’s question is a perfect example of this—a simple query any idiot with an internet connection could answer in 10 seconds. Nope! It actually took several hours (not to mention a specially trained idiot).

This is not to say that Google provides NO answers. One source notes that “the reason it’s called a fifth is because it’s one-fifth of a U.S. gallon.” (Thanks, Dr. Hawking.) Another says Depression-era distillers switched from quarts to fifths as a form of shrinkflation. Yet another

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