Slashdot Mirror
Worst Design Ever? Plastic Clamshell Packaging
Hugh Pickens writes "Rebecca Rosen writes that if you've recently opened up — or, more specifically, tried to open up — a CFL light bulb, you can sympathize with the question posted on Quora last year, 'What is the worst piece of design ever done?' The site's users have given resounding support to one answer: plastic clamshell packaging. 'Design should help solve problems' — clamshells are supposed to make it harder to steal small products and easier for employees to arrange on display — but this packaging, says Anita Schillhorn, makes new ones, such as time wasted, frustration, and the little nicks and scrapes people incur as they just try to get their damn lightbulb out. The problem is so pervasive there is even a Wikipedia page devoted to 'wrap rage,' 'the common name for heightened levels of anger and frustration resulting from the inability to open hard-to-remove packaging.' Amazon and Wal-Mart are prodding more manufacturers to change their packaging to cut waste. 'We've gotten e-mails from customers who've purchased scissors in a clamshell, which would require another pair of scissors to open the package,' says Nadia Shouraboura, Amazon's vice president of global fulfillment. Other worthy answers to the Quora question include the interfaces on most microwaves, TV remotes, New York City's parking signs, and pull-handles on push-only doors, but none gained even close to the level of popular repudiation that clamshells received."
I've had plenty of terrible times trying to get things out of plastic clamshells. I've also had no trouble at all... when they don't press seal the entire circumference of the package. If they just use a couple press locks (maybe with a touch of adhesive or a staple), these packages aren't bad at all. Why they insist on hermetically sealing them, though, that is baffling to me.
.. and you guessed it.
Comes in a nice cardbox box : http://the-gadgeteer.com/2009/08/10/zipit-clamshell-package-opener-review/
EMail: 0110001101100010010000000110001101110010 0110000101111010011011100110000101110010 0010111001100011011011110110
For every iPhone sold there is at least one package. Absolutely THEIR fault.
If I need a pair of scissors to open your package...you have failed.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
The nice thing about clamshell packaging is that it clearly displays the product itself, and usually so you can see most or all the sides of the product. This is in many ways better than a cardboard box with a couple of printed pictures on the outside.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has pried open a cardboard box in a store to get to the product inside to see what it actually looked like. Clamshell designs largely prevent that.
The fix is to make them possible to open by hand. Many clamshell packages have a perforated panel on the back you can simply pull open. That's a pretty good design.
Clamshells have been on their way out for a while now.
Here is an example of what is replacing it.
http://www.hpcorporategroup.com/the-benefits-of-natralockr-paperboard-packaging.html
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
when trying to open those packages with scissors, knives, screwdrivers, laser cutters, C4 then finally a nuclear bomb and the package is still not open
I agree, I hate the plastic clamshell anti-theft junk because it wastes so much plastic. These need to go away. Usually how I open them is I take a kitchen knife or pocket knife and just cut straight through the packaging right above where the object in it rests, take the object out, and the dump out anything else in it through that opening.
We'd see a quick end to this crap if stores were required to open packaging at point of sale and then put a "opened by" sticker over it. Like when you buy pre-packaged sushi, meat, and stuff, so that you aren't harassed about potentially having stolen it.
I got a handy little tool from Think Geek called "The Plastic Surgeon" that works pretty well.
Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.
I bought a pair of tinsnips for these packages. Actually, it was a good excuse to get a tool that could CUT SHEET METAL. How bad is that? I had to laugh at the jokers selling special tools just for the packages. Screw that. Go out and get yourself a badass sheet metal cutting pair of tinsnips, and if you ever need to CUT METAL you're set too. OK, I never cut metal, but just knowing I can do it is cool.
I just use a wire cutters on everything.
But what's neat is that people lose their cool over them.
*Edison
Team Edison's bulb.
They weren't intended to be easy to open: they were intended to show off the product, keep it safe in transit, and make theft more difficult. Particularly for small/high value products (e.g. formerly flash memory) they bulked up the product size to make theft harder.
Web shopping? Whoops, didn't think about that! They were designed for in-person shopping, and are now obsolete.
My nominee would have been the user interface on substantially all computer projectors. At a typical meeting I attend -- the type of group doesn't seem to matter -- the first ten minutes is usually spent trying to figure out how to get the projector to work. "Is it on?" "Is it off?" "Is it plugged in?" "Is it warming up?" "Is it cooling down?" "Is the bulb bad?" "Is the cable bad?" "Is it receiving anything from the laptop?" etc. Not to mention the eleventeen connectors and plenty-two buttons, when all anyone ever uses -- at least in my experience -- is a PC laptop cable and the on/off switch.
Whether it's a group of administrative assistants, football coaches, electrical technicians, farmers, or Ph.D. computer scientists, it's always the same. My kingdom for a projector that has a nice little LCD that tells me its present state, and what I need to do to either (a) see my presentation, or (b) turn it off, from there.
...and the little nicks and scrapes people incur as they just try to get their damn lightbulb out.
Not to mention the estimate 6,000 - 7,000 people a year who get cut badly enough to seek treatment in emergency rooms!
Even after all the big box music retailers have gone out of business (so "shrinkage" is presumably less of an issue), many if not most CDs still come with safety seals on three sides underneath the cellophane wrap. Same with DVDs. I'm sure these have been partly responsible for plenty of trips to the ER over the years.
I remember a few years back an, only available on TV, ad for a special pair of scissors specifically designed to open these packages and yes it was sold in one of them.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
I use a pair of scissors (or a utility knife in a pinch). The advantage is i can use them for other things and they don't require batteries. I hate those packages as much as the next person, but they really don't require a custom designed opening tool.
It seems a bit unfair to call plastic clamshell packaging the 'worst design ever' just because the collateral damage don't like it very much...
It can be inexpensively vacuum formed from plastic sheet stock, easily machine cut and sealed, allows items to be presented for display in a retail environment, and makes it harder for the small-but-valuable stuff to wander away. From the perspective of the actual customer(ie. the one who buys clamshell packaging, not you, you peon) it's actually quite a successful design.
Obviously, it is out of place in mail-order environments, and now that a large amount of merchandise gets moved that way, I assume we'll see dedicated 'warehouse-only' packaging come to the fore; but clamshell has been phenomenally successful on the shop floor.
In other news, shell-shocked civilians describe high-explosives as 'pretty lame' and 'about the worst ever'...
This is just an example of why Brick and Mortar retailers won't survive. They focus so much on theft prevention that they don't care about customers anymore. Clamshell packages can be made easy to open, providing all the same benefits except theft prevention, but retailers won't hear of it. They see every customer as a criminal, which is why they've taken to demanding your receipt as you leave.
Companies that want to stay in business are going to have to learn to treat customers well, providing 'adequate' service isn't going to cut it anymore.
The right to protest the State is more sacred than the State.
Plastic clamshell packaging has always been a nightmare from an end-consumer's perspective, and yes, there's lip-service paid to changing things in the words of major retailers and consumer goods distributors, but it's not likely to change because of "wrap rage." Clamshell packaging is adored by the retail industry for a handful of reasons:
A.) Product visibility: transparent plastic packaging that hugs the product, displays it prominently, and can showcase it visibly with flashy liners and inserts is just loved by marketing departments. Using corrugated boxes, trays, or cartons just isn't sexy if you're pushing a mostly-commoditized consumer good.
B.) Tamper evidence and loss prevention: opening boxes is easy. Opening a clamshell is difficult and noticeable, particularly if you're an unscrupulous retail employee trying to get the widget out of the package and into your pockets without the embedded loss-prevention device (RFID, etc.) coming with it.
C.) Cost of packaging: getting something into paper or corrugated boxes and cartons is a slow and expensive process, in terms of unit throughput, materials, and equipment/process complexity. Mechanical fastening (staples, etc.) is slow, adhesive application systems aren't cheap and aren't much faster, and self-seal packaging comes with a host of other issues that contribute to waste and cost. By comparison, a clamshell packaging process can be quick, with a minimum of material and significantly less scrap.
Until boxes are cheaper and faster - until the cost per unit in time, money, materials, and processing is lower using paper packaging than clamshells - those nasty, finger-slicing hunks of PVC, PET, and polycarbonate aren't going anywhere.
Karma: Excellent, but still won't get you laid.
You can't open a package but you can write an article. I wonder what's more difficult?
People who have trouble with packages and stuff like this are the same people that run with scissors.
http://boaty.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bare.jpg
a knife works too. the problem is that you don't have one while at the office, bus-stop or wherever.
theft prevention and being cheap as fuck to put together are the reasons for these horrible packages though.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
But what part of this news makes it nerdy ?? I am little confused.
-- It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -- Aristotle
Personally I don't like their charge up time.
I'll turn one on and it'll be five minutes or so before it's at full strength.
Used both cheapo dollar store ones to more quality GE and Phillips brands. I just refuse to use them now.
Just pierce the casing with a knife in a flat spot, it tears apart easily from there. Having said that, that packaging truly sucks.
Use a can opener.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
Scissors
I'm here for the experience, not the Hyperbole.
Hi -
The wonderful HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm" worked this idea into a storyline in season seven.
Here is some of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8HZbWusMDI
- Tom, Redondo Beach, California
I saw on youtube last night of a bulb covering a bathroom with smoke/soot as it burned-out (normal operation according to the manufacturer). It cost the family thousands of dollars because they wanted to save a few pennies.
Seriously, link please (if you were logged into youtube it should be in your history). I've never heard of this and would like to know if it's you fear mongering or legitimately as common as you say.
You may be interested to know that Philips manufactures a line of domestic incandescent light bulbs that use 50% less electricity, last twice as long and yet still have a low per-unit cost.
I wonder what's more difficult?
Writing is, quite literally, child's play. Plastic clamshell packaging, on the other hand, is child-resistant, if not actually child-proof.
Might help us see your point if you gave us links for these claims.
Steve Magruder, Metro Foodist
They suck. If the only think wrong with a CFL bulb was the "clamshell" packaging, I'd actually be happy. I saw on youtube last night of a bulb covering a bathroom with smoke/soot as it burned-out (normal operation according to the manufacturer). It cost the family thousands of dollars because they wanted to save a few pennies.
How full of shit is he Johnny? Well, Bob, he's pretty darn full of shit. Nothing in there indicates it could cover a bathroom.
and a clash of cultures. These things have become pervasive over the last 15 years or so which is also when we've gotten so lax on border control. Shoplifting and theft in general is pretty common south of the border and with more people moving up here it's going to follow.
That is exactly what a filthy pirate who is smuggling counterfeit light bulbs would say!
Who leaves the house without at least one knife?
I went to Golden Coral with my family on mothers day and was unable to cut the steak with the butter knife they provide at the table. I wouldn't have been able to find the edible half of that slab of gristle without my razor sharp folding pocket knife.
We've gotten e-mails from customers who've purchased scissors in a clamshell, which would require another pair of scissors to open the package
I wonder how many people ran into this problem, and went to the store to buy another pair of scissors, only to get home and realize they still have the same problem :P
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
They suck. If the only think wrong with a CFL bulb was the "clamshell" packaging, I'd actually be happy. I saw on youtube last night of a bulb covering a bathroom with smoke/soot as it burned-out (normal operation according to the manufacturer). It cost the family thousands of dollars because they wanted to save a few pennies.
If it was an isolated incident, I wouldn't care, but there are dozens of videos like that.
I've had plenty of CFLs burn out over the years. They just go out. No smoke, let alone anything that could cover a room in soot. I'll agree that it shouldn't be brushed off by the manufacturer and that, if it really were widespread, it should be addressed as the defect it is, but it's not normal.
I suspect if some student or professor with spare time performed a study, they'd find CFLs actually cost MORE money (and energy) overall than using the old Edison bulb (incandescent bulb). Similar to how ACEEE.org performed a study and found a grid-powered EV actually emits more pollution/greenhouse gases than a 50 or higher MPG gasoline or diesel car.
Testing something like emissions from vehicles has got a lot more complexity and variables than the childishly-simple-to-determine power consumption of a light bulb. They're sold by their consumption. They produce an equivalent amount of light while consuming a fraction of the power. Unless you don't believe their rated consumption - their regulated, enforced, legally culpable consumption - it's not really up for debate. Go to the hardware store and grab some light bulb sockets, wire and batteries, and you can put it to the test yourself for $20. There are plenty of complaints one might make about mercury, advertised life, cost, flickering, color tone, but I've never seen very many people try to claim CFLs don't really consume less power.
good way to ruin your wire cutters.
Why don't you have one at the office or bus-stop?
I always have my skeletool in my pocket. Pocket knives are cheap and extremely useful tools. I suggest keeping one in your towel.
I got a handy little tool from Think Geek called "The Plastic Surgeon" that works pretty well.
Did it come in a plastic clamshell package?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
It's called a KNIFE!
-- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
4 1/2 inch blades and very heavy (nearly a pound) duty. Makes short safe work out of this kind of package.
All your database are belong to U.S.
It was designed by the space devil.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/09/30
There were 243 million CFL's sold in the US in 2009. And there were 34 reports of smoke, and 4 reports of fire in a US consumer product safety database from March 2011 through December of 2011 (see this article for more information). Seems like a pretty safe product to me.
In terms of your supposition that CFL's actually cost more than incandecents? Here is a study that says no, In terms of the ACEEE.org study, I can't find specifics (unless you are talking about the 2006 study, which is hopelessly out of date). But electric cars top the ACEEE.org list of cleanest cars this year.
I call BS on this. Not that the videos aren't real but that a manufacturer would claim that this is normal operation. In my experience with CFLs in my own home, as well as friends and family, the typical failure mode is the same as an incandescent; the bulb just goes out.
If I had to guess what would cause a CFL to smoke I would say it was a ballast failure, which is the thick part of the base. I haven't seen a CFL fail like that but I have seen them fail in a standard fluorescent light fixture and they can smoke and stink.
And as far as the frequency of this kind of failure, given that millions if not billions of these bulbs have been sold I would characterize dozens of videos as "isolated incidents".
At my house we get little power fluctuations on average about once a week or so (I have good line conditioners for my computers), and whenever I get one of these little fluctuations the microwave looses it's time. Unfortunately whom ever came up with the requirements for this product decided that it was imperative that the microwave know the current time, day, month and year in order to cook my bean burrito for 30 seconds, and the process to enter this information takes like ten minutes! WHY ON EARTH DO YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YEAR IT IS TO COUNT DOWN FROM 30 TO 0?!?!?!?!
Anyone remember Intel BOX CPUs???
Pinto?
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
I was told you can just drop it on a rock from a high location (but I'm gullible).
I'd like to see a law that stipulates that any store that offers products in plastic clamshell packaging MUST be willing to open all of the packages in the checkout line (no "go wait in a separate customer service line after paying") at no extra charge. Those packages would be gone within a year.
Right now, clamshell packaging is a huge win for the store, but all of the customer frustration is an externality. By forcing the stores to deal with the externality, we align store interests with consumer interests.
--
Or you could just use a standard box cutter. I've honestly never understood why this is such a hassle for some people.
The only way those cases stopped the drug addicts I knew as a teen is if they were LARGE; otherwise it all fits into a coat well enough. They sure have enough cameras now in the mega stores everybody goes to...
My complaint is they use #2 plastic which is not recycled in my area (but bottles they take - because those are almost always #2) and #2 has no solvent glue so I can't make that much with it - yes, I keep large packaging for using later. If they use it, it should be a bioplastic that can dissolve within my lifetime... but not that evil plastic being used today where they just use a weak binder in conventional plastic so you end up with microscopic plastic particles that last for centuries, which are already showing up in every creature on earth (including us... the large portion of which is thought to come from CLOTHING plastic not from broken down large items!!! BTW, #2 is polyester so is #1.) I've always had a horrible time thermowelding #1 and #2 but its supposed to be possible if you get the temp just right.
I think the "cheap as fuck" bit is probably the most important, since many clamshells still use press-locks instead of hermetic sealing (and press-locks are obviously useless at theft prevention). These things are probably very easy to set up a fully-automated assembly line to put together, whereas cardboard boxes usually require humans to pack products in.
the Hindenburg (and other airships of the time) were filled with Hydrogen
This is not generally true. All German airships were filled with that. Many American ones contained the inert (though more expensive) helium instead, but America pretty much had the monopoly on helium extraction/production and wouldn't let the Germans have any. The designers of the hydrogen lifted ships knew the dangers and tried (not entirely successfully of course) to mitigate them, but they didn't have much alternative at the time. The Hindenburg's spectacular end killed all public confidence in any airship design though, not just those with the fatally dangerous flaw of being floating bombs, so that part of the industry collapsed almost overnight.
Swiss army knife. Press through top corner, slice down. Press through other top corner. Slice down. Array package on side. press through top corner and slide down. Voila.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
Thought not part of the usual obligatory set:
http://thedevilspanties.com/archives/6062
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
These clam-shell packages are useful for brick-and-mortar stores trying to prevent theft, however these same packages offer no benefit for online retailers. I understand that it's difficult for a company to set up different packaging lines based on whether their product is going to an online retailer or a brick-and-mortar retailer, but that's what I'd like to see happen nonetheless.
I got annoyed one Christmas and found the perfect tool for opening them, the band saw. Four quick passes and every sealed edge is removed with significantly less danger of injury despite the far more powerful cutting device.
Violence is like duct tape. If it doesn't solve the problem, you didn't use enough.
Just grab a pair of trauma shears. You can cut through a penny with them, a clamshell package isn't a big deal.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
The bane of our times: a few people (shoplifters in this case) do something bad, and the immediate reaction is to make life harder on everyone else.
-----
Testing, 0, 1, 2... -- Donald Knuth
having recently purchased some item (don't recall what it was) in such packaging I used scissors to cut the edge off so to remove the item..... only to then realize it had a perfed back and finger hole to grab the back panel and rip it at the perf.........
I got a handy tool called a pocket knife. In the old days it was rare to not have one on you at all times.
Ever try to scan to email lately? Try using the touch panel on a multifunction copier? It's an exercise in frustration and aggravation. Even machines that don't have scan set up seem to go happily along pretending to do something and actually doing nothing. It's an area that's ripe for innovation for any company that can investigate how to build a better UI.
Indeed. I carry a Leatherman plus a cheap lockback.
I'd propose that, before approving any type of plastic hard-shell wrap for a product, the company's execs need to be locked in a room for three days with the only food and water available wrapped in the same type of package. If they can survive without the help of knives, scissors or any external tool, then the product can ship.
I want to shoot the idiot that thought a single unlabelled dial was the best interface for a microwave oven.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
I think the "cheap as fuck" bit is probably the most important, since many clamshells still use press-locks instead of hermetic sealing (and press-locks are obviously useless at theft prevention).
I've seen a few packages with both hermetical sealing AND press-locks...with the press locks OUTSIDE of the hermetical seal. This would be closer to "stupid as fuck", since cutting away the seal cuts away the press-locks too.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
I always keep a cheap folder on me, but there are some places you cannot go with a knife, luckily you don't normally have to open packages in those places.
I hear that pocket knifes are illegal in New York City though, that has gotta suck.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
I also use this technique.
Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
Very this. Although I've found it even easier if the knife you have is serrated all the way to the tip. The plastic 'catches' on one of the serrations, and you don't even really have to press into the plastic as you slice downwards.
Hah: Captcha - 'Gasoline' - the last-case scenario to opening the packaging :P
I have always heard of these packages referred to as "blister-packs"
Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
I went to Golden Coral
Well, that's your problem. Coral is known to be hard to cut.
Seriously, though. That is your problem... Going to Golden Corral.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
... It's called a band saw :-P
It was mothers day, I didn't get to pick the restaurant.
Other than airports and court I can't really think of any.
NY state has some restrictions, but I do not think even NYC bans them outright. They just have to be under 4" blades and cannot be flicked open.
Simple tell the cashier you want them to open the package after you buy it. If they refuse tell them you don't want it and make them put it back on the shelves. This will get your point across to the store which i would hope would eventually make its way back to the manufacturer. Or at least influence the store's product selection.
It's probably not stupid at all; it's probably done for manufacturing. They probably have some machine that folds the package over and presses it closed, and then sends it on to the next machine. Then that machine does the hermetic sealing. The press-locks probably aren't for end-users at all.
You guys seem to be looking at things entirely from the viewpoint of the end-user, and totally ignoring the manufacturer and all the trouble they have to go to to package your widget.
Rule 1: buy it elsewhere without the packaging.
Rule 2: get the shop to remove the packaging for you.
At least here in Germany shops have to accept the packaging of the products they sold you.
Usually, yes. I have dealt with clamshell packages where if your knife is any less sharp than a razor you're likely to need considerable force to cut through. An accident waiting to happen.
Why spend money on that when a conventional box cutter works.
I worked in consumer electronics (we made electronic books, http://www.franklin.com), and the funnyest thing I ever heard was that US-Customs stopped a shipment, and wanted to know what species of clam we where importing. The answer was: Plasticus Domesticus...
a knife works too. the problem is that you don't have one while at the office, bus-stop or wherever.
Actually, I do.
I never have been able to understand the mentality of people who don't carry a knife and a flashlight everywhere. I get that some governments are a lot more oppressive than mine, but I don't know anywhere where a small (1.5" blade or so) non-locking folder is illegal. Even in the UK, which is widely regarded in the US as knife-law hell, it's my understanding any non-locking folder less than 3" is allowed, if you can provide a "good" (i.e. non-self-defense), specific reason to carry it. Such as "to open clamshell packaging".
Lamps have infuriating and nonsensical design problems.
1. The switch is almost always put in the most inaccessible of places: behind the lamp shade where you can't see it, can't peek around the shade if the light is on because it's too bright, can't peek around the shade if the light is off because it's too dark, and if you feel around with your fingers you risk being burned by the bulb. Also, most table lamps are set in a position where you really need a second elbow to be able to reach under, across, and back up to reach the switch. A sensible lamp switch should always be visible.
2. Inconsistent activation methods: you've got knobs, pull strings, little pins to push, sometimes levers. Your own lamps you get used to often enough, but any new lamp is always a mystery and takes far too much investigation just to figure out how it works. Particularly when the lever is entirely hidden (see #1 above). A sensible switch mechanism should be obvious at a glance.
3. Poor durability. Despite the fact that every lamp has basically exactly one moving part, that part breaks or jams far too often. I can't tell you how many lamps I've thrown away because the activator either bound up so tightly you can't turn it anymore, or became so loose turning it didn't work the mechanism. A device with a single moving part should have a well-designed part that continues to move appropriately for decades without problem.
4. Poor usability. The activator device is almost always more complicated or less efficient than it needs to be. So many lamps have knobs that are tiny, thin little sticks, which makes it almost impossible to rotate them. (This is the type that invariably binds up, making the situation worse). You should have nice, big knobs or easy-to-grip dongles on the end to take advantage of applied force and angular rotation - it's much easier to turn a screwdriver than a screw, and easier still to turn a wrench than a screwdriver. Most knobs also only rotate one direction, which means if the knob is positioned on the left side of the lamp for righties or the right side of the lamp for lefties, you either need an awkward reach around or to reposition the lamp to rotate the darn thing - not terrible if you only ever reach in from one position, but difficult if you approach the lamp from different angles (both sides of a desk, say, or if one person in the house is a righty and the other a lefty). The push pins are just as bad: you need your hand on one side of the lamp to turn it on, but your hand has to to to the other side of the lamp to turn it off, and you have to fumble around to figure out which side has the pin sticking out. The beaded draw strings are really lousy about catching and jamming. Compared to another very popular on/off switch -- the common wall-mounted light switch -- all of these are badly inferior. I've never, ever had a light switch fail on me, but lamp switches break all the time. (Even the average power button - press once for on and press again for off - is vastly superior.)
5. They're unnecessarily loud. Again, compare to a normal wall-mounted light switch which works silently, the average lamp is surprisingly noisy as it clicks or clacks. I've woken up my wife turning off the bedside lamp at night, and there are enough times that my baby -- in another room, behind two closed doors -- wakes up as I turn off the light that I suspect she can hear it. This is *not* an unusually loud lamp; just the normal sudden clacking is enough in a dark and quiet space to startle someone.
6. Added to the noise is the fact that most lamp shades simply will NOT stay tightened, and also spin and rattle when they inevitably come loose. Being able to change a shade is a valuable option, but I'd say I change one shade a decade. With approximately ten lamps in the house, that means the average lamp shade life span is about a century. Even disregarding that loose math, the default behavior should clearly favor being fixed in place. Much better that it's hard to remove the shade th
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
From his link being in the .uk TLD, I'd assume he's in the UK, where knife law is ridiculously restrictive. But there's any number of small multitools (or plain knives, but I prefer multitools) with non-locking, sub-3" blades, which AIUI are legal to carry in the UK. My personal favorites (CRKT's Zilla tool and SOG's PowerAssist) would sadly be off the table -- one of many reasons I'm glad I don't live there -- but I think SOG's Pocket Powerplier would be OK.
Clamshell packaging sucks from the consumer perspective because most of it isn't designed with consumers in mind. It's designed with retailers in mind. Retailers don't care if you cut yourself opening the package, but they are highly paranoid about the possibility of shoplifting (even though a majority of retail theft is internal).
What surprises me is that there haven't been any large-scale lawsuits over this junk. Fully-sealed clamshell packages deliberately put the end user at a greater risk of cuts (since you need a sharp instrument to open them) without providing any offsetting benefits to the end user. People have gotten themselves on the wrong end of multi-million dollar punitive judgments for much less. A good trial lawyer should have little trouble convincing a jury that a company which deliberately traded off product safety for less shoplifting should be responsible for the human costs of that decision. Especially when everyone on the jury remembers struggling with the damn things themselves.
Alternatively, the CPSC should mandate that clamshell packages must be able to be opened without the use of a sharp implement.
I hear that pocket knifes are illegal in New York City though, that has gotta suck.
Isn't that the same myopic dystopia in which the government thinks they have the right to stop and physically search anyone and everyone they please?
All things considered, I would be more surprised if NYC didn't ban anything and everything a citizen could use to protect themselves from the authoritarian regime; despotic leadership tends to be that way.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
The thing is, some of the bulbs actually get bright almost immediately, but unfortunately, it's almost impossible when shopping for them in the store to figure out which are the instant-on ones and which aren't. Some of the instant-ons might be labelled as such (if marketers were smart, they would), but I've gotten some packages which weren't labelled like that, and were still instant-on.
The thing I absolutely love about CFLs isn't so much lower electric bills (though I like that too), but the fact that I seem to never have to change them. I've been using the same CFLs now for like 4 years.
Tin snips.. work perfectly every time, heat seals and all
I just cut 'em open. I'll take the trade of inconvenience for product protection because I _KNOW_ I should be carrying a knife (or the far more useful multitool) at all times.
Serrated paring knives work very well. When mine wear a bit, they go from kitchen to "scattered anywhere handy".
These "Vickies" by the way are terrific utility knives. I even take one to salvage yards to cut radiator hose! They last a LONG time.
Search for:
"Victorinox Bulk Pack Paring "Knife 3.25in Blade Black Handle - Victorinox 40600"
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Tinsnips. No, it's not a sexy purpose-built anit-clamshell device, but it might as well be.
Seriously. $6 for a pair at Walmart, they will last a lifetime of clam shell cutting.
mov ah, 4ch
int 21h
Yes yes, everyone hates clamshell packaging, but worst design ever? Hardly.
CFLs are sealed in the container so you do not contaminate the store when you drop the package.
If you break a CFL you have a serious environmental problem with toxic mercury vapor. If it is in a hermetically sealed container when it breaks, then you do not have a environmental problem. You really should be careful about where you use these hazardous lighting appliances in your home. Only use them where you are very confident they will not break and introduce toxic mercury vapor into your home--such as in outdoor or garage lighting only.
I was told by an employee at the big home improvement center that if they break a CFL outside of the packaging they have to call in an EPA approved cleanup service. It is very expensive, costing from several hundred to thousands of dollars to get the mess cleaned up properly--depending on the degree of contamination. No joke.
I got a handy little tool from Think Geek called "The Plastic Surgeon" that works pretty well.
Did it come in a plastic clamshell package?
Yes, yes it did.
I like these:
http://www.makfasteners.com/Products/ByManufacturer/MidwestSnips/Tinnersnips/MagSnips.aspx
You are extrapolating from a highly biased, self-selected minority to the population as a whole
The assholes you are used to dealing with (customers and retail store owners/employees) are in no way representative of the average decent person.
Honest people are very unlikely to work retail, and tend to err on the side of being "decent", and not returning something they see as damaged, even in the smallest way.
This natural, basic human tendency is taken advantage of by most retail owners and employees who routinely try to discourage or disallow returns on the flimsiest excuse.
Larry David shares your pain.
A set of Kitchen Aid spatulas purchased from Costco clad in double-aught polycarbonate cost me a nice Denby butter dish I had purchased at a good price from an upscale consignment store where most of the drippings are better than my best china. I was working my triceps just pushing the scissors through the Kitchen Ache customer-deterrence Hadrian wall. When the scissors finally lunged into the creeping seam, the package lurched 12" inches across the countertop before my triceps released. Butter dish hit the hard ceramic tile and both halves became an instant butter dish crumble. All I really wanted from the package was the superior tongs, not the excessively canted flippers and spoons.
The packaging was so excessive it made the Formula 100 baricade-bundle of individually wrapped TP rolls flush red for being underdressed. Bad Costco. Bad Kitchen Aid. Maybe some entrepreneur could recycle the used package clippings into a razor wire that even the coons will size up with props and a splayed-claw ebonic paw gesture.
If I wasn't at work I would give you links, but youtube is blocked. I'm sure you can find the relevant anti-CFL stuff on youtube & google. It isn't hard. Try "flaws with CFL" or "burning CFL"
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Do you have the Instant-Ons?
Got a brand and model #?
>>> I seem to never have to change them. I've been using the same CFLs now for like 4 years.
My CFLs burn-out every 6 months and rarely last longer than the "normal" bulbs. Of course I know why: The CFLs used in normal "right side up" lights will last long, but in ceiling lights, which are positioned upside down, the heat becomes trapped in the enclosure & kills the electronics (the caps swell and leak). I suspect the same would happen with LED bulbs. These modern designs aren't good for enclosed or upside-down fixtures... the heat kills them.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Products in Japan tend to come in packaging that is easy to open and close again (for durable goods anyway).
In fact, I often store some things from Japan in the original packaging because it also makes a convenient case to hold it.
(Japanese FOOD, on the other hand, tends to come hideously overpackaged in many concentric layers of paper and plastic that all goes to waste.)
n/t
There are many tools that can be use to open clam shell packages; knives, scissors, saw , specialty hand tools, specialty electrical tools, etc. So when you buy a pair of scissors in a clam shell you may need to find a knife to open them.
The main point is that patience and care are needed to open the package safely. I have seen people hack at packages with knives and that causes the blade to slip and cause injury. I have never injured myself opening a sealed clamshell; I am careful.
There's an even easier tool to use that everyone already has.
A can opener.
Makes opening these things quick and easy.
These modern designs aren't good for enclosed or upside-down fixtures... the heat kills them.
Then why does the packaging explicitly state that such configurations are ok?
I have a pair of these Open-It shears, and they're one of my more frequently used tools. Work great:
http://www.amazon.com/Zibra-ZPCOPEN-OR-Universal-Package-Opener/dp/B000IHHOVI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1338583772&sr=8-3
We once bought 30 micro-SD cards for a project at work, which came packaged in annoying, hermetically sealed plastic clamshells. I used our laser cutter to slice around the actual card in each package. Voila!
We're wanted men. I have the death sentence in 12 systems!
I use a chainsaw.
In the arena of software design, nothing undercuts the Windows Registry as the Worst Idea Ever (for consumers, anyway).
Ok, at least that makes a bit of sense. I was looking at my new Hard Disk packaging wondering WTF just a couple days ago.
Now why the 'OEM' HD needed to be in a very well sealed very large clamshell capable of standing upright on it's own is the next big question. I miss the old reuseable plastic packages these used to come in, at least this time i wasn't saving the old drive.
I use EMT style utility scissors capable of cutting thru seatbelts (or metal) to open this crap.
Sounds like you're just buying shitty lamps, dude.
If it's pissing you off that much, go lamp-shopping or ask a decorator. They make a shitload of different kinds of lamps. There's probably no device on earth that industrial designers like to play with so much as the lamp. It's ridiculous.
Somewhere out there, there's a lamp that meets your requirements. Something with a non-removable, frosted-glass shade it and a fat, quiet push-button on the base to turn it on and off. It may take you all of a weekend to find if you really want one, and from the sound of things, you really ought to before you go postal.
That's Cristian Weston Chandler's favorite place to eat, you insensitive clod!
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
The worst packaging is the plastic bags that they wrap porn magazines in so you can't see what is inside.
the only tool that works well is a bandsaw. yes, it is a little hard to get through a security checkpoint but it sure works. i guess you could use a scrollsaw in a pinch. btw, the bandsaw didnt come in a clamshell.
All the CFLs I have seen (and bought) come in cardboard boxes.
One man's never ending obsession to bring mediocrity back to the web.
in most cars I've seen, windshield wiper is controlled by a stick to the right of the wheel, turn signal by a stick to the left of the wheel. Different things, although I still occasionally hit the wrong one.
A lot of controls seem to be hybrid - can be turned like a dial (for adjusting), can be pushed like a button (for on/off). Either way, I don't like to fidget with them while driving.
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
Even substandardly sealed tanks of hydrogen hydroxide don't have an inflammation rate that high!
How many frustrated consumers does it take to change a light bulb, now?
Curb your enthusiasm
So we'll buy them?
Actually, my Philips Vision LED explicitly stated it wasn't for enclosed fixtures.
Just bought 2 boxes of CFL, they were in 100% cardboard, no clamshell, just straight cardboard. In fact it didn't even have tape on it.
I use a big scissors shaped pair of tin snips i got from Lowes.
I literally accidentally slit my wrist trying to open one of those dumb packages. Vertically too. Had to go to the er, I was bleeding so bad. F*** those packages. The irony is it was a new buck knife, and i was using the my old one to slice it open
Why would you scan email? It's already on the computer. And if you're scanning a document in order to email it, didn't the document originate from a computer?
Actually it's not the clamshell that pisses me off so much as the plastic. If you're buying a CFL light bulb to save money on your utility bill then fine but if you think for a second that you're helping the environment then maybe you should take a look at the island made of discarded plastic in the Pacific ocean, one which will grow slightly larger when you throw out that plastic clamshell.
"scan to email" not "scan email". I had to look twice too. I'm not sure why my mind edited the "to" out.
My bandsaw makes short work of plastic packages. Does a number to the user's manual though...
I agree. But I never thought of this until I saw someone else do it. It works perfectly. Unfortunately, a box cutter is something you don't usually have in your kitchen. I have to go to the basement work room.
like wth is plastic clamshell? why do i have to read 12 nerd comments on unrelated topics to understadnd what the faak clamshell pakcaging is? is it what i think it is? that freakingg hard impossible to tear packaging of SD micro cards etc?
if you're in a pinch, you can use a can opener
>>>>These modern designs aren't good for enclosed or upside-down fixtures... the heat kills them.
>>
>>Then why does the packaging explicitly state that such configurations are ok?
They don't. They say the exact-opposite. "Do not use this CFL in enclosed fixtures." -- That's okay but since the EU Parliament and US Congress outlawed the sale of regular bulbs (effective 2014), what are we supposed to use instead? I guess our enclosed fixtures will just have to stand empty w/ no bulbs.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
>>>>These modern designs aren't good for enclosed or upside-down fixtures... the heat kills them.
>>
>>Then why does the packaging explicitly state that such configurations are ok?
They don't. They say the exact-opposite.
Yes they do. Last time you claimed this crock, I actually picked up the packaging and read it, and what I saw was that enclosed/upside-down installations are explicitly permitted.
Now if you'd like to argue that it is all some sort of marketing gimmick, with all sorts of conditions attached (similar to the whole "unlimited" internet bullshit), I'm all ears. But don't spread such easily verifiable lies, it just tarnishes your reputation.