...has gone mad. If you thought that the telecom industry has more than enough to annoy (IVRs, outbound telemarketing, cell phone billing), then consider the packaging industry.

I just opened a bottle of fish water conditioner since I needed to change the tank water of the goldfish I keep on my desk (Skippy). After taking the small bottle out of the clamshell package, I found a small protective cap ring on the bottle. Considering how hard it was to remove, I suspect it was made of Kryptonite.

Contrast this with the bottle of store-brand mouthwash I bought recently...I got it home from the store, unscrewed the cap (no plastic band) and voila...there is the mouthwash. No foil tab, no cover. Any fiend in the supermarket could have poured the contents of his car ashtray in there if he so chose.

But it's good to know that the water conditioning drops for my goldfish were packaged with double tamper-proof protection. Go figure.

TES