So I just went to Dunkin’ Donuts to get myself a glazed chocolate. I noticed the following on the bottom of the bag:
What the hell is up with that? Would putting any more in the bag put an unsafe level of strain on the structure of the bag? It’s good to know that waxed paper bag engineers are so concerned with load limits and safety associated with carrying donuts.
I think the point is that a majority of Dunkin’ Donuts workers are likely to be just out of high school (or maybe still in high school), and they want to make things as fool-proof as possible. What really bugged me some years ago, is when the fast-fool chain Gino’s (anyone remember that?) thought it was “cool” to label every single item! The cups, in large, coloful stylized letters said “DRINK”, the straw wrappers “STRAW” and so forth. Don’t know whos brilliant idea that was. . .
More to keep from damaging the food, or filling it so much that the customer can’t carry it conveniently. But paper bag engineers DO follow specifications for size and carrying capacity of bags, one of which is Rule 42 of the Uniform Freight Classification. Burst, Tensile Strength, and Stretch are all specs which define the strength of bag paper, and the design of the bag translates that spec into bag performance. Not safety, but performance. Your doughtnut bag tears open one too many times and that bag supplier gets a nasty call from Dunkin’ Donuts.
UncleBill
Paper Geek