# The product is okay, but the packaging goes to 11 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830 "2023-07-30T16:38:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/21 "2023-08-01T02:42:37Z")
I’ve used that myself. I couldn’t believe how conveniently everything was packaged, and quite easy to use too. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/22 "2023-08-01T06:24:17Z")
Guess no one at Oscar Meyer grew up doing _Mad_ Fold-Ins. Michigan State University has an academic progam in Packaging (and Packaging Engineering). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/23 "2023-08-01T06:45:01Z")
Art follows function. Or is it the other way, Function follows art? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/24 "2023-08-01T07:10:27Z")
That was my crack as a kid …id eat it by the case… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/25 "2023-08-03T14:28:32Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I order “Bark” boxes for the doggies around here. We had a subscription for a couple of years. For an Olympic theme there was a torch. One of our dogs would run around the yard with the torch in her mouth and it was incredibly cute. There were so many toys around! A dog would periodically carry a toy off into the woods and leave it there. Many laughs when a long time later we would stumble across a dog toy in the woods. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/26 "2023-08-03T14:47:10Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > The dogs love it. But I’m afraid it’s geared more toward the human. When the dogs get credit cards, they’ll gear the packaging to them. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/27 "2023-08-03T21:10:15Z")
I hate Discourse! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/28 "2023-08-03T21:21:26Z")
[Bart’s dog has one.](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FTheSimpsons%2Fcomments%2Ftvg2mi%2Fyou_just_received_your_moneybank_charge_card%2F&psig=AOvVaw3L78v0X2eHVJSdIGHJfWY4&ust=1691183976426000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CA0QjRxqFwoTCJio6bi1wYADFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD) ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/29 "2023-08-04T01:51:57Z")
45 years ago (!) I worked with a small publisher. The printer they used was a brilliant printer, but he hated the work and was always scheming to “make it rich.” His big idea was toothpicks. Branded “Pic!” the gimmick was the boxes he designed and fabricated: scaled down flip top cigarette packs, with vibrant design art, wrapped in cellophane to hold the “Pics!” His dream was a big company would buy up the idea, but it did not happen. The flip top box for toothpicks was pretty cool, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/30 "2023-08-04T02:30:12Z")
Credit where it’s due, Apple has done some very nice work with user-friendly and sustainable packaging. This is niche, but the loveliest and best-designed parcels ever are the sewing/embroidery supplies etc. that I get from Mary Corbet’s [needlenthread.com.](https://shop.needlenthread.com) Perfect little cardboard boxes in sturdy shipping envelopes with the contents so carefully packed that nothing is ever shifted, smushed or scratched. I mean, I like the products but the packaging seals the deal. (The [candy-box-packaged beeswax pieces for thread waxing](https://shop.needlenthread.com/product/beeswax-petites) are sold out at the moment, or damn, I’d be tempted.) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/32 "2024-05-21T14:51:23Z")
Sidebar: Don’t remember where I heard/read this — if you use the Cologuard kit and the results are positive, you will have a hard time lining up a colonoscopy as insurance companies will not pay for it as you now have a “pre-existing” condition. Torches and pitchforks, anyone? I’m buying. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/33 "2024-05-21T15:06:07Z")
I had a Cologuard with a positive result, and I had no problem scheduling a colonoscopy, using Medicare and supplementary insurance. It is, of course, possible that some private insurance company somewhere was that stupid, not realizing how much money the use of Cologuard saves insurance companies, and if you have a positive result it is only proof that you need a colonoscopy, and if you don’t get one the insurance will be paying a hell of a lot more for colon cancer surgery. Also, if you already had the insurance before using the Cologuard, how could they not cover you for the colonoscopy? Smells like urban legend to me. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/34 "2024-05-21T15:16:25Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Smells like urban legend to me. I realized I heard that from my previous GP; you’d think doctors would be immune from urban legends — maaaaaaybe not. Everything else in your post was spot on. BTW: I’ve read that there is a 12% chance of a false positive reading; that’s great, better than a false negative, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/35 "2024-05-21T15:25:29Z")
My brother had a negative result from Cologuard. 11 years later at 66 he had his first colonoscopy. He went straight from the colonoscopy to surgery and had 9 inches of his colon removed. Relying on Cologuard instead of having a colonoscopy almost killed him. His insurance company didn’t save any money, the surgery, 2 weeks in the hospital and follow up chemo therapy cost a whole lot more than a colonoscopy. The doctor I see for my colonoscopies has a picture on the wall of his clinic, a Cologuard box with a red no symbol over it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/36 "2024-05-21T21:16:06Z")
Yep, Cologuard is not perfect. Even they say that it should not be used long term in place of colonoscopies. You don’t say if he had any other tests during those 11 years between the Cologuard test and the appearance of cancer, but if not, 11 years is way too long to go without additional testing. If you’re 55 and have no symptoms and a Cologuard negative result, you should probably have another something by age 60. Of course, IANAD. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/37 "2024-05-21T22:19:07Z")
I couldn’t imagine them rejecting the whole claim, but they would charge the copay if it was diagnostic. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/38 "2024-05-21T22:20:45Z")
I wouldn’t blame Cologard for this. A lot can happen in 11 years. Heck, a lot can happen in 11 MONTHS. Although I’ve used Cologard twice and have yet to be scoped, I do understand where your doctor is coming from. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/39 "2024-05-21T22:25:43Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Don’t remember where I heard/read this — if you use the Cologuard kit and the results are positive, you will have a hard time lining up a colonoscopy as insurance companies will not pay for it as you now have a “pre-existing” condition. That doesn’t sound right to me. My understanding is that “pre-existing conditions” applies to conditions you had before you obtained the insurance. Now if someone was uninsured, took the Cologuard test, and _then_ tried to get health insurance I’m sure they’d run into problems. But I can’t imagine them not covering a colonoscopy for an existing client. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/40 "2024-05-22T18:09:40Z")
Amazon just delivered a small item. The retail packaging is fine – nice and compact, small-ish cardboard box, everything nicely organized inside a paper tray that looks like it’s made from recycled paper. But … It came in an Amazon shipping box that was big enough to hold at least six of the retail boxes if not more! Furthermore, I ordered a total of three items, all at the same time, yet the other two are coming separately tomorrow. All three could have easily fit into that one box and all been delivered at the same time tomorrow, saving everybody time and money and producing far less environmental waste and CO2 emissions. For a massive company for whom packaging and logistics is the heart of its business, Amazon seems notoriously incompetent. On the plus side, at least the box was stuffed with recyclable paper and not that horrible plastic bubble wrap. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830/41 "2024-05-22T18:14:31Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Don’t remember where I heard/read this — if you use the Cologuard kit and the results are positive, you will have a hard time lining up a colonoscopy as insurance companies will not pay for it as you now have a “pre-existing” condition. Unless you are changing coverage, the pre-existing condition should not be a problem. You won’t get it covered as a SCREENING colonoscopy, however - which means it’s not going to be “free” to you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-product-is-okay-but-the-packaging-goes-to-11/987830.md?page=3)