Howdy folks, got a question for ya…
Can anyone tell me what a compact disc case is known as a Jewel Case? I’ve done a cursory search of google, merriam webster, and britannica and found nothing to explain it. It’s a niggling point of trivia, but I thought someone here might know.
inkblot
Jewelry in stores (and probably among dealers as well) is often kept in shallow boxes or drawers with a hinged glass lid. You pull the drawer out and let the customer look through the glass lid, then open it to get the jewels out if they decide to examine it closer or buy it.
It looks quite a bit like your standard CD case. No actual cite, but I’m fairly confident that’s where it came from.
It sounds reasonable to me, and would have been my guess. I’m hoping for some coroborating evidence, or at least a cite to back it up tho. Too often these assumptions turn out to be unfounded, and it could turn out some person with the last name of Jewel invented them and is sitting at home counting their royalties.
covering my inkblot
Slight hijack: Most people don’t know the easy way to open a CD jewel case. Press down in the center of the right hand edge of the lid with your first finger and pull up the top and bottom edges with your thumb and another finger. This releases the catches at the top and bottom of the lid and you can now open it without any fuss.