Rant #3,538: She Blinded Me With Science

Tupperware.

I am sure that just about every Baby Boomer remembers what that word represented--

Those handy plastic containers, where you could store just about anything.

And I am sure many of us also remember those ubiquitous Tupperware parties, which every friend of your mother--or your mother herself--tried to hawk these wares to friends and family, while making a few bucks on the side.

And we all remember the sound that the Tupperware storage containers--which were supposedly air tight--made when you opened them--

BLMMPH!

Every family--or so it sermed--used Tupperware to store everything from chips to cookies to cold cuts.

The company actually began in the 1940s, but reached its zenith of popularity in the 1960s. And I believe all of its products were American made up until recently.

I hadn't heard too much about Tupperware in recent years.

I know that they started to move away from their standard business model some time ago, and you could get Tupperware products at some department stores, including Target.

But what was once a hot thing isn't anymore, and I just heard on the news that Tupperware has filed for bankrupcy.

The company said that it isn't going out of business, it is just resetting its strategy  to a more digital-first, technology driven mode.

My family had plenty of Tupperware products that we used to store things--

Round and square, tall and short.

When I was a kid, I used to eat potato chips that my mom poured into a big, round Tupoerware container with a big cover that made that famous sound when you opened it.

I guess my mother figured that since Tupperware was supposedly air tight, it was better than keeping the chips in the open bag, where  unwelcome visitors could get into the bag since it wasn't air tight.

Honestly, I really don't know if Tupperware was actually so air tight, in particular when I opened and closed that container seemingly several times a day for a period of years.

Anyway, Tupperware opened the door for a rash of cheaper imitations, and later, sometimes even better imitations, and the uniqueness of the product didn't last.

I don't know what they mean about their new business mode.

I guess the product will be available wholly online, but what do they mean by "technology driven."

I guess they were "technology driven," in a 1960s way, because there was nothing like it on the market.

But that was then, this is now ... I don't see how what amounts to plastic containers and other such kitchenware can be "technology driven," but what do i know?

I still can visualize that big, plastic container where we stored the chips, and opening the top, ready to stuff my face.

BLMMPH!