Heck Of A Guy

Today’s Quiz

What is this guy doing?

If your answer, sans profanities, is on the lines of
He’s trying to open one of those [multiple expletives deleted] plastic clamshells that encloses every piece of electronics gear I’ve purchased in the past five years

Then you’ve come to the right place.

And you’re not alone.

The Problem

In his ongoing role as Champion of Mankind in the battle of Humanity Vs Clamshell Packaging, DrHGuy has been ultimately victorious in each of his contests, but more than a few of these conflicts have been in doubt and the clamshell opponents, such as those pictured below, have, on occasion, drawn first blood – literally.

These tenacity of this packaging is the result of two factors:

1. An especially sturdy plastic polymer, originally developed as part of the Regan Star Wars initiative to serve as the basic ingredient of affordable, yet durable domes capable of deflecting missiles descending on second-tier cities¹

2. Exquisitely diabolical design, including the use of double shells and the especially diabolical molding of the plastic shell around each component of the items packaged together (note the flashlight and batteries in the above photo)

This excerpt from the Consumer Reports Oyster Awards, a report that I heartily recommend as both enlightening and perversely entertaining, encapsulates the packaging industry’s treachery in one, grand prize-winning example:

The Hard Plastic Clamshell

This didn’t take the longest (9 min, 22 sec to open the Uniden Digital Cordless Phone Set–14 pieces with rivets between each), but it won because of all the sharp edges produced opening the package. The hapless victim couldn’t open the package with scissors, so he tried a box cutter, which was risky. He couldn’t pry the rivets open with a screwdriver, but used a razor blade to bypass and cut around them. He also sliced the instruction manual and nearly cut the battery wires.

Similarly telling is this quote from Christian Arbelaez, MD, a member of the Trauma Care and Injury Control National Committee of American College of Emergency Physicians, … serious hand injuries are occurring because of this packaging. Dr. Arbelaez goes on to note that in his own Boston-area ER, he routinely treats package-induced trauma – including tendon & nerve damage and cases requiring surgical repair – at the rate of one case each week except at Christmas when the pace accelerates exponentially.²

The phenomenon has, inevitably, precipitated the creation of a new term, “wrap rage,” defined as the anger caused by product packaging that is difficult to open or manipulate. This term is featured in my favorite quote describing this problem:

The crucible of wrap rage is, of course, the CD. It was universally repackaged in 1992, its old cardboard box replaced by plastic wrap with a zip-strip. The answer to our unwrapping prayers! Yet 12 years later, a pull-tab torn off in hand, we are still chewing through plastic like wild dogs.
“Wrap rage,” The Times (London, England), February 4, 2004

Is There No Hope?

Of course. Given the indomitable will and wondrous ingenuity of humankind, it seems to me, it’s an even bet that we can overcome these seemingly benign chunks of plastic.

And, happily, evidence exists that some manufacturers are attempting to balance their need to protect against pilferage, the multi-billion dollar motivation for using the Kevlar clamshells and their like, with customer convenience and safety. An outstanding example of packaging re-design is offered by Sherwin-Williams’ twist-and-pour paint cans.

Less dramatically, Hewlett Packard uses a variety of packaging for its inkjet cartridges, dependent on the sales point. While these items are still encased by plastic, for example, for those sellers that ask for it, HP ships them in cardboard boxes if one orders them directly from the website.

Such examples are, however, notable because they are unusual.

Solutions

Anyone attempting to open these devices without tools is destined for failure.

One can arm oneself with box cutters, razors, and similar cutting implements.

Other tools suggest themselves.

And things have a way of escalating …

Until they get completely out of hand

Which brings us to

The OpenX Tool

First, the OpenX Tool is not a miracle.

And, I suggest one not get too excited about the prospect that, as the web site claims, the ” OpenX® makes opening packages fast, safe and easy!”

Faster? – Probably.

Safer? – Well, if one follows instructions;

Easy? – Let’s not get carried away.

It is, however, a quantum leap better than anything else I’ve found.


The OpenX directions from its web site are self-explanatory.

And, finally, it seems worth mentioning that, at least when I purchased this thing, the packaging (you know what’s coming, don’t you?) cried out for an OpenX Tool to open it.

The OpenX Tool is available for about $5 with free shipping from the OpenX web site. Amazon also carries it at a similar price.

Footnotes

1. Second-tier cities were defined as any metropolitan area other than Washington DC, which was to be shielded by a retractable dome constructed from transparent tungsten, a solution altogether too expensive to be used for purposes other than defending the sitting government ↩
2. Dr. Arbelaez’s interview is reported in Wired News: Tales From Packaging Hell, which I also recommend in its entirety, especially if the reader enjoys cockfights, movies about shark attacks, America’s Funniest Home Videos, and other entertainment in which pain and blood play prominent roles. ↩

Show Social Bookmarks

Hide Sites