"One of the most unique buildings in Michigan was the result of a happy accident. John Makinen operated a bottling plant in Kaleva, Michigan. The "happy accident" was simply, that he noticed that soda pop in bottles stored in his warehouse didn't freeze during the cold northern Michigan winters. It was by this observation that he discovered the insulating properties of his bottles and, he had an idea. There just might be a use for the thousands of flawed and chipped bottles that were set aside during quality control inspections."
Source: https://www.upnorthmichigan.com/odds/bottlehouse.html
Don in SoCal