Topical Guide 798
Mark Dorset
Inventions: The Folded Box Milk Carton
At Home with the Glynns, Chapter 2:
ONE DAY I was in the cafeteria at the new junior high school, making my way along the steam table in a line with the other scholars, collecting the various components of my lunch: half a pint of milk in a waxed cardboard container shaped like a cabin in the woods; . . .
The Henry Ford Archive of Innovation:
The quest for a shatter-proof container prompted John Van Wormer, a toy manufacturer in Toledo, Ohio, to innovate. He applied for a patent for a “paper milk bottle” in 1912 and a “folded blank box” in 1913, which was updated to include a built-in spout in 1914. The U.S. Patent Office granted each application in 1915.
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