American Scientist

To the Editors:

I read Henry Petroski’s excellent column “From Lowly Paper Clips to Towering Suspension Bridges” (Engineering, November–December), with particular interest in his discussion of the packaging of consumer goods. I have been thinking about this topic for a while.

Dr. Petroski concentrated on an important aspect of packaging: keeping the product undamaged from factory through shipping to market. He alluded to a first precept: Make it attractive so people will buy it. But I fear no one in the packaging business seems to recognize a third important consideration: the consumer who ultimately buys and uses it.

Those who design packaging should consider a third requisite: The consumer needs to open, and perhaps reclose, the product without resorting to special tools. I can only get into most blister-packaged goods with a sharp box-cutter and considerable struggle. Once I open the packaging, I might want to reseal it. I can sometimes open a cereal box without destroying the slot for the closing tab, but I need scissors to open the inner bag without spraying cereal all over the kitchen. And the inner bag is of a semi-rigid plastic that does not remain folded closed to keep the cereal from growing stale.

Michael Levine
Evanston, IL