As we have reported before (see A wrap rage maverick, published Oct. 2006, and Wrap rage: Packages that hurt, published April 2004) there has been much railing and—gasp—even cursing against the scourge of hard-to-open packaging, especially the much-maligned clamshell. Some of it is warranted, but as we noted, some of that hardship is purposeful to prevent theft and shrink at the retail setting.
Now a blogger points to a common household tool that purports to unlock the otherwise unopenable clamshell. Reports the intrepid problem solver from the www.Lifehacker.com site:
I had a "duh" moment yesterday after I had cut my hands trying to open a Logitech optical mouse from its death-to-the-thieves blister pack. My home scissors weren't up to cutting the thick plastic, and I had to use my hands after a while. THEN, my eyes fell upon the can opener (a standard rotary one) sitting innocently in the drawer. I used that to open the next blister pack, and man, was that a breeze!
While several of the feedback responses called the idea of using a hand-held rotary can opener the work of genius, another pointed out that a $4.99 tin snips that also does the job.
In a perfect world, such means to package access wouldn't be needed, but until that day comes, have your can opener or tin snips at the ready, and be careful out there.
Now a blogger points to a common household tool that purports to unlock the otherwise unopenable clamshell. Reports the intrepid problem solver from the www.Lifehacker.com site:
I had a "duh" moment yesterday after I had cut my hands trying to open a Logitech optical mouse from its death-to-the-thieves blister pack. My home scissors weren't up to cutting the thick plastic, and I had to use my hands after a while. THEN, my eyes fell upon the can opener (a standard rotary one) sitting innocently in the drawer. I used that to open the next blister pack, and man, was that a breeze!
While several of the feedback responses called the idea of using a hand-held rotary can opener the work of genius, another pointed out that a $4.99 tin snips that also does the job.
In a perfect world, such means to package access wouldn't be needed, but until that day comes, have your can opener or tin snips at the ready, and be careful out there.
