If you’ve ever struggled to get one of those pesky plastic containers known as a blister pack open, to get at the item inside you’ve just purchased, you know the frustration involved. But there’s a man with a common household item offering a solution to this problem.
The handy, helpful tip comes from creator John Brown (@daddybrownn), who posted his video on Friday. It’s gathered more than 510,000 views and 400 comments since then. The video’s on-screen caption reads, “How to properly open blister packs!” And in a brisk, minute-long video, he reveals exactly how to get it open.
“You bought something that comes in one of these hard plastic packages,” he begins. “You know how difficult it is to get them open with scissors or a knife. I’m gonna show you how to open them so easily without making any sharp edges.”
The can opener hack
He then produces a manual can opener and gets to work. “So, what we’re gonna do is you’re gonna find your edge that’s not open, that you want to do. You’re gonna put them on there, squeeze tight and then you’re just gonna go along. … Yeah, just like you would a can,” he explains, opening the bottom edge of the packaging with relative ease.
Once through the plastic, he notes, “It’s a perfectly nice straight cut. There’s no jagged edges. And from there you can either rip it, or you can continue to cut it along the edge.”
He shows, by comparison, a cut he made with scissors and the jagged edge it left, vs. the comparatively clean edge left by the can opener.
@daddybrownn This is how you open those hard plastic containers! #howto #howtotiktok #diy #hack #hacks #lifehacks #lifehack #homehack #parentsoftiktok #parent #toys #dadsoftiktok #dad #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound – daddybrownn
The technique is tried and true
It’s similar advice to one coming from an HGTV article that remarks, “Something that makes us grit our teeth? Products banded and wrapped in strong, plastic clamshell packaging. Certainly, we understand it exists to deter shoplifters and it’s cheaper for manufacturers, but consumers don’t like it. Whatever practicalities exist as part of plastic packaging is lost on most of us in those moments as we rip and torque, and destroy our hands while trying to get to our special new item.”
It says, of the can opener technique, “The tough plastic edges that seal clamshell-style packaging are hard to cut through with your everyday scissors, but a breeze to remove using a manual can opener. Use the tool to bite down around the outer edge of the packaging, and allow the blade to rotate and slice through the plastic layers. If you cut through three sides, you can easily pry open the package and remove your goods.”
Another option was revealed by a TikToker in a Daily Dot article from last August: Squeezing the package open.
Commenters made their thoughts known about the method.
“Wow, I’ll be doing that from now on,” one said. “I’m tired of cutting up my fingers trying to open things like that.”
Another said, “I prefer to just pry it open with my bare hands for 10 mins.”
Others just wondered why not scissors, though one shared, “I used scissors, it slipped and I cut my arm and needed stitches.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Brown via TikTok and Instagram direct messages.
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