# Ever have a blister-pack accident? \[Edited thread title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680 "2011-03-31T20:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/1 "2011-03-31T20:29:04Z")
You know, those (in my case, headphones) theft-preventative measures which cause you to have to take a knife or scissors to open a package? Does the prevention of theft really outweigh the cost of a law suit if someone bleeds to death from trying to open one of these things? I just opened a package containing a set of headphones bought at Wal-Mart. There were no instructions on how to open it and that thing looks like a great white got a hold of it. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/2 "2011-03-31T20:36:47Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > You know, those (in my case, headphones) theft-preventative measures which cause you to have to take a knife or scissors to open a package? Shrink wrap is a very thin material, like cellophane, and can be torn apart by hand. Bubble wrap is for inside the box to provide a cushion. What you’re referring to is blister packaging. I’ve no idea about the lawsuit angle, but I’ve never had a problem with blister packaging–a solid pair of kitchen shears has proven adequate for all the packaging I’ve ever run across. Knives, razor blades, etc. are the wrong tool for the job. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/3 "2011-03-31T20:39:03Z")
If you trust [wikipeida](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrap_rage) > [@](#): > > Consumers sometimes use potentially unsafe tools such as razor blades, boxcutters, and ice picks in their attempts to open packages. In the Yours survey, 71% of respondents said they had been injured while trying to open food packaging. The most common injury respondents had from trying to open packaging was “a cut finger, followed by cut hand, sprained wrist, bruised hand and strained shoulder muscle.” According to a British study, over 60,000 people receive hospital treatment each year due to injuries from opening food packaging.[4] The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that attempts to open packaging caused about 6,500 emergency room visits in the U.S. in 2004. A 2009 study conducted by the Institute for Good Medicine found that 17 percent of adults over the age of 21 were either injured at least once or know of someone who was injured while opening a holiday or birthday gift. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/4 "2011-03-31T20:39:23Z")
Yeah, blister wrap. The kind that gives you blisters if you decide to rip it open bare-handed. 🙂 Thanks for the correction, **Dr. Strangelove**! Q ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/5 "2011-03-31T20:41:32Z")
“[Shrink wrap](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_wrap)” is similar to the very thin cellophane used to cover many food packages. “[Bubble wrap](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_wrap)” is used inside packages to prevent the contents from moving around. I think the term you’re looking for is [“clamshell” or “blister pack”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blister_pack#Consumer_goods). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/6 "2011-03-31T20:48:05Z")
Sounds like you need one of [these.](http://www.myopenx.com/) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/7 "2011-03-31T20:52:01Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Sounds like you need one of [these.](http://www.myopenx.com/) He didn’t yell at me, talk really fast, or use black and white. How do I know this product is worth anything? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/8 "2011-03-31T21:06:08Z")
a jumbo letter opener with the blade in a V groove can safely open much of that type of packaging. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/9 "2011-03-31T21:39:08Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Does the prevention of theft really outweigh the cost of a law suit if someone bleeds to death from trying to open one of these things? 1. If they bleed to death, they aren’t going to be suing anyone. 2. If they are so dumb as to bleed to death from a minor cut on an extremity, the world is better off without them. 3. It would be pretty tough to win a lawsuit against the store selling it, or the manufacturer who made it, by claiming you are too stupid to open the package without cutting yourself, and that they should be punished for your stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/10 "2011-03-31T21:44:48Z")
I’ve cracked several CD jewel cases getting that darn shrink wrap off. Twist the knife blade too much and it’ll crack the plastic every time. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/11 "2011-03-31T23:31:10Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > 1. It would be pretty tough to win a lawsuit against the store selling it, or the manufacturer who made it, by claiming you are too stupid to open the package without cutting yourself, and that they should be punished for your stupidity. I’d really, really like to be able to say without lying that no one has ever won a suit on a similarly pathetic, but I doubt I can. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/12 "2011-03-31T23:57:43Z")
Yes. I hate those clam shell/blister pack things too. Way too much work to get the thing I just bought out. I’m with you Quasi! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/13 "2011-04-01T00:08:43Z")
Sorry, the word “basis” kind of fell out of that post of mine, somehow. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/14 "2011-04-01T00:18:04Z")
I see the OP as more of a shared experience thread rather than a real GQ. MOved to IMHO from GQ. **samclem** Moderator ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/15 "2011-04-01T00:36:05Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > 1. It would be pretty tough to win a lawsuit against the store selling it, or the manufacturer who made it, by claiming you are too stupid to open the package without cutting yourself, and that they should be punished for your stupidity. It is not a question of stupidity. The packaging is really hard to open by design. It is not simple to open some of these packages even with good kitchen shears. You have to cut all the way around a complicated shape made of tough plastic. I have found that ordinary scissors don’t work. I would not be surprised to find out that 30% of people don’t have easy access to the tools needed to gain access safely to the flash card they bought at best buy. There is something messed up about that. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/16 "2011-04-01T00:41:59Z")
Although **Quasi** got the name of the offending packaging wrong, I bet this thread will get a lot of views because people are going to wonder how one manages to have a shrink-wrap or bubble-wrap accident. I know I was curious! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/17 "2011-04-01T01:15:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve cracked several CD jewel cases getting that darn shrink wrap off. Twist the knife blade too much and it’ll crack the plastic every time. I’m having trouble picturing this. Where was the blade before you started twisting it? I only cut the cellophane - my knife never goes into the jewel case. Are you wedging your knife into the crack between the front of the case and the back of the case? All I do it make a small cut anywhere on the cellophane, and then it becomes easy to tear with my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/18 "2011-04-01T02:33:15Z")
I used to slide the knife with the blade flat between the plastic wrap and the top or bottom panel of the case. I didn’t want to risk scratching the case by scoring the plastic wrap. Then by twisting the blade it would burst the plastic wrap and it could be peeled off. Unfortunately, the jewel case is so cheaply made that sometimes the plastic case would crack. It couldn’t take that tiny bit of leverage from the knife blade twisting in that thin space between the wrap and case. That plastic wrap is tougher than it looks. 😉 Live and learn. Now I score the plastic wrap along the back edge of the case. Any scratches there don’t matter. > [@Keeve](#): > > I’m having trouble picturing this. Where was the blade before you started twisting it? I only cut the cellophane - my knife never goes into the jewel case. Are you wedging your knife into the crack between the front of the case and the back of the case? All I do it make a small cut anywhere on the cellophane, and then it becomes easy to tear with my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/19 "2011-04-01T07:16:42Z")
Yeah, I screwed up the title, didn’t I? I asked that it be fixed, although now I reckon the horse has left the barn, so to speak. Stupid thread to begin with, though, right? Next time I’ll think it through. Q ---
**Author:** ![yastobaal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/258eb7/32.png) [@yastobaal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yastobaal)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680/20 "2011-04-01T08:38:04Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Although **Quasi** got the name of the offending packaging wrong, I bet this thread will get a lot of views because people are going to wonder how one manages to have a shrink-wrap or bubble-wrap accident. > > I know I was curious! 😃 Same here. Though I was more imagining April fools tricks or people wrapping themselves in bubble-wrap and chucking themselves down a flight of stairs. Anyways, to answer the spirit of the OP, I have yet to injure myself when opening blisters but whilst cutting open a cardboard box (I was selling stuff on eBay and needed something to protect the contents) the scissors managed to cut a 2cm hole in the knuckle of my thumb. You know when you can look at the injury for a second or two and think, ‘hmm, where’s the blood?’ That’s when you know it’s gonna hurt later as well. So yes, I can see injuries whilst opening blister packs happening but 60,000 a year in the UK sounds like a lot. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-a-blister-pack-accident-edited-thread-title/576680.md?page=2)