Things that are just too hard to open

[mountainman]

Why do companies make it impossible to open their products? There is just no point in buying something you can't get out of the package. While typing this, I sit out of breath, enraged and both hands raw from a ferocious bout with a norelco nose and ear groomer (still) encased in some space-age plastic that would better be utilized as some kind of border fence. And recently, I almost put my eye out with a pair of scissors that seemed the only conceivable means of opening a diabolically imprisoned razor. More innocuous items can be equally frustrating. When I'm gym-bound in the winter I can bench 300, but have been defeated by chip-bags that I had to bite open because I couldn't pull apart the seel. These days, even the twist tops on pepsi bottles fight to the death rather than turn counter-clockwise. And don't get me started on products that are SUPPOSED to be hard to open. So I'm curious, does anyone agree that the people who devise these packages should be tortured, shot, taunted, released to instill false hope, captured again and then REALLY subjected to some pain??

[Dave Schwartz]

Mountainman,

Boy, do I hear you!

Permit me to offer you a strategy for future use. It only works when you purchase a product locally rather than have it shipped.

I always ask them to open the package for me in the store! I have never had an objection, though sometimes it takes the clerk a few minutes to figure it out. (Better him than me.)

BTW, this works especially well at Radio Shack where they can be picky about taking a return if the packaging is damaged too much.


Dave

[GameTheory]

Amazon has a rage-free packaging initiative with products certified simple to open. They do sell little finger blade cutters specifically designed for those style packages, although a lot of companies are phasing them out (or making them so they open like a clamshell with just a couple of presses on indentations) because people hate them so much and there have been more than a few injuries...

[bigmack]

I've cut a couple o' fingers on a few and let expletives fly shortly thereafter.

Clamshell PVC packaging is bad for Mommy Earth as well.

Mk5xXA0mdyw

[Greyfox]

How true. I've even seen Cheezies packages that just won't open until you take a blade of some type to them.

[mountainman]

How true. I've even seen Cheezies packages that just won't open until you take a blade of some type to them.

I wonder how many people get hurt trying to open stuff? Plenty, I'd bet-and some seriously. I've flipped out on stubborn packages with sharp instruments and could easily have suffered serious injury. It's my pet peeve in LIFE.

[ArlJim78]

amen, I have done plenty of cursing at those clamshells. now i use an exacto knife, and surgically cut all around, trying not to cut myself, damage the product, or cut the instructions in half.

another challenge for me is sometimes I cannot open those simple plastic containers that are supposed to rip open. for example the little packets of sauce that come with Chinese takeout. I'm plenty strong but my fingers just can't perform the necessary gripping and tearing action because there is not enough real estate. so i have to use scissors even though there is a little sign that says "tear open here".

[prospector]

"child proof" to me means find a kid to open the damn thing

[Robert Goren]

I am trying to open a package of AA batteries for my wireless remote in between postings. It is almost enough to make me go back to a corded one. Almost

[Tom]

I just went 10 rounds with a bag of Doritos before I read this.
This morning, my Cheerios beat me and I had an egg instead.
I was thinking egg shells are all I can handle anymore.
Glad it is not just me!

[Relwob Owner]

You called it.............I am convinced the toy makers dont want anyone to actually play with some of their toys.....I got so many toys for my son recently that were battle royals in terms of opening and I didnt win much....

[turfnsport]

I got my 4 year old niece some Barbie's and a Barbie house for Christmas...I could not get the Barbie's out of the box...They were tied up with those twisty ties, each going in a different direction...It was like they were being held hostage... Spent a good 30 minutes freeing them.

I thought somewhere in China some six year old factory worker is laughing their ass off at me.

[ElKabong]

Amen to the OP

[JustRalph]

I don't buy CD's anymore, but those really bother me.

I now have several razor/carpet knifes around the house just for this kind of thing. That bastard who poisoned the Tylenol in the 80's is responsible for all of this


Btw, Mark, from now on when watching the mountaineer feed I will be checking out your nose and ears............

[BlueShoe]

This morning, my Cheerios beat me and I had an egg instead.
Glad it is not just me!
Cheerios? My opponent Fri. morn was a new box of Shredded Wheat. Not the outer cardboard box, the inner bag. This thread really helps. Was thinking that I was really going downhill. Senior moments and all that. A couple of other things that give me fits that are supposed to be very easy to open; ordinary crackers and those grocery bags. You know the ones, the plastic ones on the rollers that are pulled down and then torn off. Usually used to hold fruit and vegetables. Great sport in first finding the correct end to open and then when you do actually getting the damn thing open.:bang:

[PhantomOnTour]

Look on the bright side; a lot of wines (even some good ones) are going to twist off tops instead of corks. Those synthetic corks can be a real pain in the ass.

[JustRalph]

"knifes" " Knives" whatever, I just finished a 12 hour shift......long day

[Pell Mell]

The ONLY packages I can open are the treats for my dog....usually tear right open but don't try to reseal the resealable bag. :bang:

[mountainman]

Btw, Mark, from now on when watching the mountaineer feed I will be checking out your nose and ears............

LOL. Tv cameras are oddly selective in what they pick up on. Glaring things you'd assume they'd reflect go undetected-while stuff less obvious to the naked eye stands out. I've dumped chili on my shirt during the program and was sure viewers couldn't tell. But one shock of misbehaving hair can make me look like Doc from "Back to the Future."

[HUSKER55]

I hear ya. I swear, some of the glue they use woud work well to build a house with.

I tried to open a box of trash bags the other day and the wad of glue they used was so tough I couldn't even get a screw driver thru it. Seriously.

And stores wonder why old men like me go to the dollar store and by the bags on a roll that come in a twist tie bag.

Have you check recently at office max when you want to buy a flash chip for your camera. Wait till you see the package they come in and how hard it is to open the damn thing.

Mountainman you got company

[Dave Schwartz]

Just found the answer to your problem!

Seems we recently purchased a new can opener - what crap they are, BTW. They fail about every 6 months. But I digress...

This new Hamilton Beach "opening station" (LOL) comes with a tool for exactly your purpose!

http://www.horsestreet.com/BBSImages/CanOpener.png

See the little do-jiggy to the right? If you turn it over it has a slot with a sort of box-cutter/razor blade reset inside. The instructions say that it is for opening clam shell cases!



http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=6139885

[johnhannibalsmith]

Great thread. I pledged a year or so ago to study the packaging of anything that I buy. If I think that it may cause me to go irate and get frenzied with skyrocketing blood pressure, I won't buy it. I buy a lot less crap and eat fewer Prilosec.

[dav4463]

I bought a bag of cheese. It said "tear here"...yeah right! I tore and I tore. It came off in pieces. I couldn't find my scissors. I bit it. I ripped at it. I finally got a good grip....and finally it opened.....then little cubes of cheese spilled out all over the floor! I had about half a bag left, but it was open!

[Let's Roll]

I have a nice pair of poultry shears I keep on the counter top in a caddy, with the big mixing spoons, ect. That is the handiest thing I have for opening the heavy duty plastic containers as well as lighter duty stuff. The point is blunt and the blades are on the short side, not like scissors, so you can bear down with some force on anything tough. I use them more for those chores than I do for cutting up a chicken !

[Tape Reader]

I am trying to open a package of AA batteries for my wireless remote in between postings. It is almost enough to make me go back to a corded one. Almost

Ellen DeGeneres (sp?) does a funny skit with this one. She questions why batteries are packaged so ridiculously hard to open, and light bulbs are packaged in a paper sleeve.

[prospector]

in the donut section this morning i finally took the little plastic bag over to the clerk to open..after a few minutes, she cut it open..:) i was having those donuts even if i had to put them in my pocket..

[Grits]

I have a nice pair of poultry shears I keep on the counter top in a caddy, with the big mixing spoons, ect. That is the handiest thing I have for opening the heavy duty plastic containers as well as lighter duty stuff. The point is blunt and the blades are on the short side, not like scissors, so you can bear down with some force on anything tough. I use them more for those chores than I do for cutting up a chicken !

I was waiting (and hoping) to see this one!

Men seldom know about kitchen shears. Excellent tool, and as you say, good for far more than cutting chicken. Today, though, to find them, one would probably have to go into Williams Sonoma. (Now, the guys are saying, Williams Sonoma, whas dat?)

Dave, darlin', I got so tired of can openers that aren't worth five cents--and NONE of them are, I don't care how much one pays for them--I now have only a manual old fashioned one. Its a heavy one, but an excellent one. I'll survive with the old way for opening veggies and whatnot.

Dave, I don't have a panini maker either--I'm so NOT with it.:lol:

When things won't reseal? Guys, really--that's what they make ziploc bags in all sizes for.

I once asked a clerk at Walmart (I despise the place), while I was buying a new electric razor WHY all the packaging and the alarms on each one?

She told me, "the packaging--with it all encased is the manufacturer's choice. But, you notice the price on these things, right? The alarms have to be on them because they're one of the most stolen items in all Walmarts.

[Pell Mell]

Just found the answer to your problem!

Seems we recently purchased a new can opener - what crap they are, BTW. They fail about every 6 months. But I digress...

This new Hamilton Beach "opening station" (LOL) comes with a tool for exactly your purpose!

http://www.horsestreet.com/BBSImages/CanOpener.png

See the little do-jiggy to the right? If you turn it over it has a slot with a sort of box-cutter/razor blade reset inside. The instructions say that it is for opening clam shell cases!



http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=6139885

To continue the digression; I had the same problem with can openers. None would last a year. About 8 yrs ago I bought the model your showing and it's still going strong. One of the very few kitchen items I've ever bought that I have been happy with.

[BlueShoe]

When things won't reseal? Guys, really--that's what they make ziploc bags in all sizes for.
Glad you brought this up. I know this thread is about things that wont open, but these ^*%@# things will not CLOSE, at least not for me. You are supposed to just gently but firmly press the seams together and run your fingers across them to seal, but about 4 times out of 5 they do not lock and the top of the bag pops back open.:bang: Have several boxes of them in the back of a top shelf that are several years old and that are only used when there is simply no other option and when ample time is available and when in a reasonably good, patient mood.

[Jay Trotter]

I got my 4 year old niece some Barbie's and a Barbie house for Christmas...I could not get the Barbie's out of the box...They were tied up with those twisty ties, each going in a different direction...It was like they were being held hostage... Spent a good 30 minutes freeing them.

I thought somewhere in China some six year old factory worker is laughing their ass off at me.

I received BDSM Barbie for Christmas too!


http://sol.sapo.pt/photos/phantasizer/images/482322/original.aspx