I recently discovered the podcast Food: Non-Fiction where the hosts were discussing the history of the milk carton. Worth a listen if you ever wondered what happened to those wonderful glass milk bottles? Or, if you wondered why were there images of missing children on the paper cartons during the 1980s?

Here is a few interesting facts:

1. The milk carton essentially developed along with the refrigerator. Its an example of one technology changing related objects. One, following Levi Bryant’s argument in Onto-cartography, could say that the gravity of the refrigerator mediated the shape of the milk carton.
2. John Von Wormer developed and patented the carton in 1915. It took at least three decades for both the refrigerator and the milk carton to catch on.
3. I wonder what prompts the gallon milk jugs? Thoughts?
4. In the future, our refrigerators will be able to scan the bar codes and keep track when our milk spoils.

LG Smart Refrigerator:  https://uxmag.com/articles/the-internet-of-things-and-the-mythical-smart-fridge

Other links:

http://www.foodnonfiction.com/2015/07/designing-milk-carton.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/08/the-surprising-history-of-the-milk-carton/260587/

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/milkcarton.htm

image from http://antiques.lovetoknow.com/Antique_Milk_Bottles