... there is definitely something off about how that title just turned out - time to stop reading all sorts of nonsense?
Anyway, question of the day - how come Europe is so completely unable to create normally openable (food) packaging? Cookies from Germany - after unrolling the indicated top part, still need to go for scissors. Estonian Kalevi candy wrappers - uhh. Seeds from Poland - didn't include even a hypothetical place to open. The sticky strip (presumably) meant for closing already opened package of berries tore the plastic bag in half upon trying to get the end unstuck enough to put the (previously cut-open) end of the package under it. Latest food supplement thingy with serrated "tear here" line - nooope, get a cutter. The oil/ketchup bottle seals - forget civility, just stab them with a knife.
Meanwhile I honestly don't remember much issues with any Japanese packaging. I mean - they've figured out things like the onigiri packaging that keeps the nori from any contact with rice until opening (and nb! can also be opened from the other side for nori-hating folk, to enable tossing the thing away without even touching.) And the double-sauce package (also used for example for chocolate-vanilla; honey-butter; mayonnaise-ketchup etc combinations). Every plastic bottle label comes with a tearable strip (for easy trash sorting before disposal.. but that is a wholly other story). Anything with a "pull here" or a "tearable" label, actually works, no questions asked, even if package is smooth with no visible tear line or anything. It's amazing!
...
And yes, they still use floppy disks and fax machines to do most of bureocracy here - some politician just "declared a war" on those and got shot down, because e-mails and other online things are soooo complicated and carrying a floppy disk with the government's financial data to the bank tucked into someone's handbag at the end of a workday is much much safer than digital banking. Don't even get me started on the paper pin-code-less bank books or ATM opening times.
...
8 years (or sth, lost count) in, and the duality of Japan still smacks me in the face at least once every week.
Question of the week - is it really impossible to make an iron supplement that isn't absolutely foul-tasting? Have just tested two batches in a row. One a scoopable-"soluble" powder, one a single-(unopenably)-packaged jelly. Different companies, "seasonings", additives, concentrations etc. Sharing the unfortunate feature of tasting almost inedible... rotten-oranges-mixed-with-fish-inedible. I can't decide which of the two is worse.
Cheers,
Hedi
