Rolling Rock Beer Easter Egg - "33"

Sorry, that's not the real reason why. Check http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_044 to find out the true story.

Actually, the "33" on the character's t-shirt is not actually a "33". It's actually its an 83. you can't see it because of the overshirt, but you can see the part on the eight where it droops over and closes like an eight, just not the whole thing, making it an "83". you with me? good. but anyway, the positions of the "33"'s described above, are correct.

"33" is the number on the bottle on the table in the apartment in Saigon in the movie Apocalypse now.

The official explanation for the number, which is not entirely coterminous with the REAL explanation, is that 33 signifies two things: the year Prohibition was repealed (1933), and the number of words in the legend printed above the number on cans and returnable bottles. I quote: "Rolling Rock from glass lined tanks in the Laurel Highlands. We tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you." Now, this is a touching sentiment, and there is no question it has 33 words in it. But from the standpoint of intellectual satisfaction, it sucks. Therefore, I hunted up James L. Tito, who at one time was chief executive officer of Latrobe Brewing, the maker of Rolling Rock beer. Mr. Tito's family owned Latrobe from the end of Prohibition until the company was sold to an outfit in Connecticut in 1985. After some prompting, he told me the sordid truth. Based on some old notes and discussions with family members now dead, Mr. Tito believes that putting the 33 on the label was nothing more or less than a horrible accident. It happened like this: When the Titos decided to introduce the Rolling Rock brand around 1939, they couldn't agree on a slogan for the back of the bottle. Some favored a long one, some a short one. At length somebody came up with the 33-word beauty quoted above, and to indicate its modest length, scribbled a big "33" on it. More argument ensued, until finally somebody said, dadgummit, boys, let's just use this one and be done with it, and sent the 33-word version off to the bottle maker. Unfortunately, no one realized that the big 33 wasn't supposed to be part of the design until 50 jillion returnable bottles had been made up with the errant label painted permanently on their backsides.