Bottle caps are no longer lined with cork so there's no need to keep them wet, and considering these bottles held about 10 ounces of liquid I imagine they would be completely consumed like the majority of 12 ounce bottles are today. By having flat bottoms you could put them down in between sips, and they aren't prone to rolling off of tables and breaking on the kitchen or dining room floor with flat bottoms to rest them on...Some history:
In England, the torpedo soda bottles are called Hamilton's; named after the inventor, Paul (would you believe?) Hamilton.
Why his design is not used today is a mystery to me for it had two distinct advantages: (1) By never allowing the bottle to stand upright, the cork keep moist, didn't dry and the contents never lost pressure. Advantage (2): Once opened, the bottle could not be laid down so the contents had to be drunk.More sales??
Don......