Bottle jacks became popular in the early 1900s when the automobile industry began to take off. Also called hand cats, bottle cats provided an easy way for an individual to lift a vehicle for inspection or highway service. Its resemblance to milk bottles won the bottle outlets their name-today, range in size and weight to offer a capacity ranging from hundreds to several tons. The cats have a vertical axis, which supports a platform (called a bearing) that directly supports the weight of the object as it rises. Although they are most commonly used in the automobile industry (1.5 to 5 ton jacksare often used to lift cars), bottle jacks have other uses as well. In the medical industry they can be used in hydraulic stretchers and patient lifts. In industrial applications, they can be found as pipe bending machines used in plumbing, such as cable cutters for electrical projects and as material lifts in warehouses. Its ability to lift heavy loads plays an important role in allowing the repair of large agricultural machinery and in many construction operations. Bottle jacks can be secured inside a frame, mounted on a beam, or simply used as they are for easier cat transport.