This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Children are quite a bit like cats.
No matter how much you spend on gifts for them, inevitably it is the box - which had contained the gift - that seems to provide the most raucous and satisfying entertainment for them.
Enter Exhibit A:
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And Exhibit B:
It was a glorious Christmas.
For Exhibit C, I present one possible future for boxes: the Rapid Packing Container, designed by two engineering students in the Invention Factory Program at the Albert Nerken School of Engineering at Cooper Union. It's easy to assemble and disassemble and reuse... though it may prove bewildering to children and cats.