The Potato Chip Packet Theory

I have another theory. Only first world nations have the technology to make packaging that open easily. Take your average Cheetos packet for example. In Israel, as in the rest of the world, to open you grip both sides near the top and pull. And pull. And pull. Nothing happens. So you take a deep breath and pull really hard and the packet rips open and the tears in two and an orange snowstorm covers your keyboard and monitor. In the first world, they know how to make things that take a linear amount of effort to open. You pull just hard enough and the package opens sweetly along its perforated edge, just as anticipated. Not so in Israel. Nothing opens easily. They have the technology to pretend it should (its an 80% thing), there are perforations - they are just stronger than the rest of the package. Some packages even have a tab or V and wordage to "pull here" or "lift" - none of them work.

So what do we do. We use our teeth. To open your Cheetos, you grip one end in your teeth and pull. This is way more controlled than believing the documentation. We're an inventive lot us Israelis. One of the best things they make here are chocolate coated wafers (the Elite brand is best). In order to know how to open these without crushing the contents you need to have been in the army. You grab both sides of the packet with the perforated seam facing upwards, then sharply bend the your two hands towards each other, tenting the packet along the seam which will open cleanly. Its not easy living in the third world, but at least the wafers are good.