I remember when all paper milk cartons - the ones with a fold-out spout such as pictured here - were clearly marked as “blanks made under license from Ex-Cell-O Corporation”. Knowing that phrase made it easy for me to use Google to learn about the history of this clever device.
But what about breakfast cereal boxes?
For decades, I’ve been intrigued by the simplicity with which these boxes can be opened and closed. I can’t find the right keywords to find a good picture of it, but I hope others will understand what I’m talking about.
My question is: Where can I find (online) some history about who invented this, and when? Thanks!
1966? I doubt it. I don’t want to give away my age, but I was eating cereal for a good few years before that, and I can’t remember any other way of closing the box.
Thanks for trying, though. And I will keep my mind open to the possibiliy that you are right and my memory is faulty.
I worked on my junior design project with Xynatech, a company that produces flexible metal dies that are magnetically attached to rolling drums that pressure cut the thin cardboard into the desired shape. Folding cartons is but one use for the male-female die sets Xynatech produces.
FWIW, the design project was to develop a mount for a dispenser that traveled on a CNC (computer numeric controlled) X-Y table. The dispenser squirted a polymer in the desired shape onto the sheet metal, and the pieces were then dipped in acid. The acid etched away the material that wasn’t protected by the polymer, leaving behind a raised surface when the polymer was removed.
