This is the tale of an invention rendered ineffective because of corporate greed. Strictly speaking, it’s not a physical education issue, but it does affect any teacher who packs a lunch for school or team trips.
What invention am I talking about? Plastic food storage containers.
I’m the king of leftovers. I eat them for most lunches. And when I pack for team trips, I usually pack my travel munchies in a plastic storage container so they don’t get scrunched.
Several years ago, a company (Glad or Ziploc, I believe) came up with a wonderful invention. Small rectangular storage containers that held one or two leftover portions. My grocery store stocked only one size and they all used the same snap-on top. It was so easy – you knew every top would fit, and the containers all stacked perfectly inside each other, making a nice, compact pile inside your cupboard.
I was in food storage heaven.
Alas, my happy days were not to last.
Soon other companies got into the act. They began innovating, and added numerous sizes and shapes. They redesigned the containers so the old tops no longer fit the new containers.
The result – where once there was a compact pile of plastic containers in my cupboard, there now lies a big old mess. And, finding the top that actually fits a container is now a test of patience, often requiring me to spread a selection of tops on my counter and using trial-and-error until I find one that fits.
What brought on this diatribe? Last Friday morning, as I was packing for a team trip to Toronto for an indoor track meet, already late, I was delayed to the point of growling as I tried to find a top for a food container. From such frustrations are revolutions born!
Food container companies… I curse you now!
Dick Moss, Editor,
PE Update.com
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[tags]physical education,plastic food containers[/tags]
