Cardboard

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about cardboard. The color alone is pretty boring. What can I say, I'm bored just typing the word "cardboard". Wow, that took effort. I think I'll go lie down now. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled Cardboard.

Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products.

The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple piles of material.

Natural cardboards can range from gray to light brown in color depending on the specific product.

Dyes,

Pigments,

Printing,

And coatings are available.

The term cardboard has general use in English and French,

But the term cardboard is deprecated in commerce and industry as not adequately defining a specific product.

Material producers,

Container manufacturers,

Packaging engineers,

And standards organizations use more specific terminology.

Statistics In 2020,

The United States hit a record high in its yearly use of one of the most ubiquitous manufactured materials on earth,

Cardboard.

With around 80% of all the products sold in the United States being packaged in cardboard,

Over 120 billion pieces were used that year.

In the same year,

Over 13,

000 separate pieces of consumer cardboard packaging was thrown away by American households combined with all paper products and this constitutes almost 42% of all solid waste generated by the United States annually.

However,

Despite the sheer magnitude of paper waste,

The vast majority of it is composed of one of the most successful and sustainable packaging materials of modern times,

Corrugated cardboard,

Known industrially as corrugated fiberboard.

Types Various Card Stocks Various types of cards are available,

Which may be called cardboard.

Included are thick paper of various types or pasteboard used for business cards,

Aperture cards,

Postcards,

Playing cards,

Catalog covers,

Binder's board for bookkeeping,

Scrapbooking,

And other uses which require higher durability than regular paper.

Paperboard Paperboard is a paper-based material usually more than about 10 mils thick.

It is often used for folding cartons,

Set-up boxes,

Carded packaging,

Etc.

Configurations of paperboard include container board used in the production of corrugated fiberboard,

Folding box board comprising multiple layers of chemical and mechanical pulp,

Solid bleached board made purely from bleached chemical pulp and usually has a mineral or synthetic pigment,

Solid unbleached board typically made of unbleached chemical pulp,

White lined chipboard typically made from layers of waste paper or recycled fibers,

Most often with two to three layers of coating on the top and one layer on the reverse side.

Because of its recycled content it will be gray from the inside.

Binder's board,

A paperboard used in book binding for making hardcovers.

Currently,

Materials falling under these names may be made without using any actual paper.

Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard is a combination of paperboards usually two flat liners and one inter-fluted corrugated medium.

It is often used for making corrugated boxes for shipping or storing products.

This type of cardboard is also used by artists as original material for sculpting.

Clean cardboard Most types of cardboard are recyclable.

Boards that are laminates,

Wax coated or treated for wet strength are often more difficult to recycle.

Clean cardboard,

I.

E.

Cardboard that has not been subject to chemical coatings,

Is usually worth recovering although often the difference between the value it realizes and the cost of recovery is marginal.

Cardboard can be recycled for industrial or domestic use.

For example cardboard may be composted or shredded for animal bedding.

History The material had been first made in France in 1751 by a pupil of Romure and was used to reinforce playing cards.

The term cardboard has been used since at least 1848 when Anne Bronte mentioned it in her novel,

The Tenant of Wild Fill Hall.

The Kellogg brothers first used paperboard cartons to hold their flake corn cereal and when they began marketing it to the general public a heat sealed bag of wax paper was wrapped around the outside of the box and printed with their brand name.

This development marked the origin of the cereal box though in modern times the sealed bag is plastic and is kept inside the box.

The Kieckhofer Container Company run by John W.

Kieckhofer was another early American packaging industry pioneer.

It excelled in the use of fiber shipping containers,

Particularly the paper milk carton.

Cardboard Box Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes primarily used for packaging goods and materials.

Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material.

The term cardboard may refer to a variety of heavy paper like materials including card stock,

Corrugated fiberboard,

And paperboard.

Cardboard boxes can be readily recycled.

Terminology Several types of containers are sometimes called cardboard box,

A box or carton of cream of wheat cereal,

Hard cigarette pack or paperboard box,

Corrugated box used for storage of archives,

Yoo-hoo drink boxes,

Milk and gable top carton,

Set up box made of non-bending paperboard.

In business and industry,

Material producers,

Container manufacturers,

Packaging engineers,

And standards organizations try to use more specific terminology.

There is still not complete and uniform usage.

Often the term cardboard is avoided because it does not define any particular material.

Broad divisions of paper-based packaging materials are Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon,

Printing upon,

Or for packaging.

It is produced by pressing together moist fibers,

Typically cellulose pulp derived from wood,

Rags,

Or grasses,

And drying them into flexible sheets.

Paperboard,

Sometimes known as cardboard,

Is generally thicker,

Usually over 0.

25 mm or 10 points,

Than paper.

According to ISO standards,

Paperboard is a paper with a basis-weight gramage above 224 grams per meter squared,

But there are exceptions.

Paperboard can be single or multi-ply.

Corrugated fiberboard,

Sometimes known as corrugated board or corrugated cardboard,

Is a combined paper-based material consisting of a fluted corrugated medium and one or two flat-liner boards.

There are also multiple names for containers.

A shipping container made of corrugated fiberboard is sometimes called a cardboard box,

A carton,

Or a case.

There are many options for corrugated box design.

A folding carton made of paperboard is sometimes called a cardboard box.

A set of boxes made of non-bending grade of paperboard is sometimes called a cardboard box.

String boxes made of paperboard laminates are sometimes called cardboard boxes,

Cartons,

Or boxes.

History The first commercial paperboard,

Not corrugated box,

Is sometimes credited to the firm M.

Traverton & Son in England in 1817.

Cardboard box packaging was made the same year in Germany.

The Scottish-born Robert Gere invented the pre-cut cardboard or paperboard box in 1890.

Flat pieces manufactured in bulk that folded into boxes.

Gere's invention came about as a result of an accident.

He was a Brooklyn printer and paper bag maker during the 1870s.

And one day while he was printing an order of seed bags,

A metal ruler normally used to crease bags shifted in position and cut them.

Gere discovered that by cutting and creasing in one operation,

He could make prefabricated paperboard boxes.

Applying this idea to corrugated box board was a straightforward development when the material became available around the turn of the 20th century.

Cardboard boxes were developed in France about 1840 for transporting the Bombic's moire moth and its eggs by silk manufacturers.

And for more than a century the manufacture of cardboard boxes was a major industry in the Val Reyes area.

The advent of lightweight flake cereals increased the use of cardboard boxes.

The first to use cardboard boxes as cereal cartons was the Kellogg Company.

Corrugated,

Also called pleated,

Paper was patented in England in 1856 and used as a liner for tall hats.

The corrugated box board was not patented and used as a shipping material until the 20th of December 1871.

The patent was issued to Albert Jones of New York City for single-sided,

Single-face corrugated board.

Jones used the corrugated board for wrapping bottles and glass lantern jimneys.

The first machine for producing large quantities of corrugated board was built in 1874 by G.

Smith and in the same year Oliver Long improved upon Jones' design by inventing corrugated board with liner sheets on both sides.

This was corrugated cardboard as we know it today.

The first corrugated cardboard box manufactured in the U.

S.

Was in 1895.

By the early 1900s,

Wooden crates and boxes were being replaced by corrugated paper shipping cartons.

By 1908,

The terms corrugated paper board and corrugated cardboard were both in use in the paper trade.

Crafts and Entertainment Cardboard and other paper-based materials,

Paper board,

Corrugated fiberboard,

Etc.

,

Can have a post-primary life as a cheap material for the construction of a range of projects,

Among them being science experiments,

Children's toys,

Costumes,

Or insulative lining.

Some children enjoy playing inside boxes.

A common cliché is that if presented with a large and expensive new toy,

A child will quickly become bored with the toy and play with the box instead.

Although this is usually said somewhat jokingly,

Children certainly enjoy playing with boxes,

Using their imagination to portray the box as an infinite variety of objects.

One example of this in popular culture is from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes,

Whose protagonist,

Calvin,

Often imagined a cardboard box as a transmogrifier,

A duplicator,

Or a time machine.

So prevalent is the cardboard box's reputation as a plaything that in 2005 a cardboard box was added to the National Toy Hall of Fame in the U.

S.

,

One of very few non-brand specific toys to be honored with inclusion.

As a result,

A toy house,

Actually a log cabin,

Made from a large cardboard box was added to the hall,

Housed at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester,

New York.

The Metal Gear series of stealth video games has a running gag involving a cardboard box as an in-game item,

Which can be used by the player to try to sneak through places without getting caught by enemy sentries.

Housing and Furniture Living in a cardboard box is stereotypically associated with homelessness.

However,

In 2005,

Melbourne architect Peter Ryan designed a house composed largely of cardboard.

More common are small seatings or little tables made from corrugated cardboard.

Merchandise displays made of cardboard are often found in self-service shops.

Cushioning by Crushing Mass and viscosity of the enclosed air help together with the limited stiffness of boxes to absorb the energy of oncoming objects.

In 2012,

British stuntman Gary Connery safely landed via wingsuit without deploying his parachute landing on a 3.

6 meter high crushable runway built with thousands of cardboard boxes.

See also,

Wikimedia Commons has media related to cardboard boxes.

Banana Box,

A type of cardboard box designed for transportation of bananas.

Euro Container,

A system for boxes that can be used for reusable packaging for transport and storage.

The Adventure of the Cardboard Box,

A Sherlock Holmes story.

Euro Container A Euro container also called Eurobox,

Eurocrate or KLT box from German Kleinladunstreger,

Small load carrier,

Is an industrial stacking container conforming to the VDA 4500 standard.

The standard was originally defined by the German Association of the Automotive Industry VDA for the automotive industry,

But was subsequently adopted across many other areas of manufacturing and the shipping industry.

The most common sizes are 600 x 400 mm and 400 x 300 mm,

Which can be stacked together to fill a Euro palette measuring 1200 x 800 mm.

Dimensions Euro containers are based around two standard heights of 147.

5 mm and 280 mm,

Including a 15 mm overlap in the vertical direction,

The height of the feet or base stacked into the lip of the box below.

These containers are manufactured typically in gray polypropylene to another thermoplast by injection molding.

Containers with full floor and walls are watertight.

Many designs have at least two or four,

Often four rectangular rounded grip holes near the middle of the lips.

The design may include some small holes in the lowest parts of at least two walls to let liquid run out if stored outdoors in rain or after washing.

Walls constructed as grids allow one to see from the side into the box.

If the bottom is formed by a grid too,

Air may flow easily through even stacked boxes to keep bakery dry or allow quick cooling.

Euro containers mounted on the rear rack of a bicycle or small motorcycle are widely used by newspaper deliveries in Austrian towns.

A Euro container fits between the frame tubes in the load transportation bay of the Danish freight bike Bullitt.

Related Standards The 400 x 300 mm sizes and stacking height were adopted in the early 1990s for inner stacking sustainer boxes.

Milk Crate Milk crates are square or rectangular interlocking boxes that are used to transport milk and other products from dairies to retail establishments.

In English speaking parts of Europe,

The term bottle crate is more common,

But in the United States the term milk crate is applied even when the transported beverage is not milk.

History The dimensions of the milk crate may have been influenced by the dimensions of the tea chest.

For all practical purposes both hold similar internal volumes.

The tea chests are designed for shipping over the open ocean.

The bottle crate emerged after the tea chest was a de facto shipping method.

The plastic milk crate is claimed as an Australian invention,

Produced through a period of trial and error in design by the dairy farmers cooperative milk company in the 1950s and 60s.

Design Middle 20th century bottle crates were made of wood,

Later ones were stainless steel,

And those made in the latter part of the century were of heavy duty polyethylene.

The most common milk crate sizes are designed to carry several 1 US gallon milk jugs.

Some 12 x 12 inch milk crates have a height of 10 ½ inches,

But this may vary.

Recipes and Recycling Milk crates are often stolen for either personal or business use or for the plastic that they are made out of.

Theft of milk crates can cost dairies millions of dollars per year.

This has led at least one dairy farm to hire a private investigator to discover what is happening to the crates.

The results of investigations point to plastic resellers being the culprits in the majority of thefts.

Alternate Shipping Methods In July 2008,

Walmart and some other stores introduced a square milk jug that does not need to be transported in a crate.

Sometimes called green milk jugs,

They are not green in color but rather are claimed to be environmentally friendly.

These new milk jugs are stackable and can be transported without crates.

These need not buy plastic for the crates nor transport or wash them.

Reusable Packaging Reusable packaging is manufactured of durable materials and is specifically designed for multiple trips and extended life.

A reusable package or container is designed for reuse without impairment of its protective function.

The term returnable is sometimes used interchangeably,

But it can also include returning packages or components for other than reuse.

Recycling,

Disposal,

Incineration,

Etc.

Typically the materials used to make returnable packaging include steel,

Wood,

Polypropylene sheets or other plastic materials.

Reusability of packaging is an important consideration of the environmental credo of reduce,

Reuse,

And recycle.

It is also important to the movement toward more sustainable packaging.

Reusable packaging is encouraged by regulators.

Shipping Containers For many years,

Several types of shipping containers have been returnable and reusable.

These have made most sense when a reverse logistics system is available or can be readily developed.

A return,

Reconditioning,

And reuse system can save money on the cost per shipment and can reduce the environmental footprint of the packaging.

Manufacturing,

Particularly the automotive industry,

Has used heavy duty returnable racks for shipping hoods,

Fenders,

Engines,

Dashboards,

Etc.

From suppliers to final assembly plants.

The racks are then returned for the next shipping cycle.

Bulk foods,

Chemicals,

And pharmaceuticals are often shipped in reusable and returnable containers.

These need to be carefully inspected,

Cleaned,

And sanitized as part of the reuse cycle.

An effective quality management system is necessary.

Wooden pallets are often made to be expendable for a single shipment.

Others are heavy duty and intended for multiple shipments.

Some are in pallet pools which are used,

Inspected,

And refurbished for extended usage.

Often reusable industry shipping containers have barcode labels or RFID chips to help them identify and route the containers.

A typical keg,

Half barrel,

With a single opening in the center of the top,

And industrial compressed gas cylinders.

Steel drums can be reconditioned and reused.

Plastic molded transit case with pre-cut foam interior.

Reusable reusable plastic tote box,

Euro container.

Container for bulk vegetable oil.

Heavy duty reusable wood pallet.

Reusable field bins for fruit.

Stackable plastic containers.

Carrots on display and returnable plastic bins.

Use in the automotive industry.

Automotive OEM manufacturers use and encourage the use of returnable packaging to move components from their vendors to their factories.

The components are placed in returnable packaging and are at times arranged in a way that facilitates movement straight to assembly lines.

Such packaging replaces traditional corrugated cartons,

Thereby helping companies cut costs by avoiding wastage and effort required in disposing the cartons.

It also helps in reducing the environmental footprint of the automotive industry.

Other advantages of using returnable packaging include avoiding damages to parts while in transit.

Parts are at times placed in specially designed receptacles for easy picking on the assembly line,

Contributing to fewer mistakes and simpler inventory management.

Paper mache.

Paper mache,

Literally chewed paper,

Is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp,

Sometimes reinforced with textiles bound with an adhesive such as glue,

Starch,

Or wallpaper paste.

Paper mache sculptures are used as an economical building material for a variety of traditional and ceremonial activities,

As well as in arts and crafts.

Preparation methods.

There are two methods to prepare paper mache.

The first method makes use of paper strips glued together with adhesive,

And the other uses paper pulp obtained by soaking or boiling paper to which glue is then added.

With the first method,

A form for support is needed on which to glue the paper strips.

With the second method,

It is possible to shape the pulp directly inside the desired form.

In both methods,

Reinforcements with wire,

Chicken wire,

Lightweight shapes,

Balloons,

Or textiles may be needed.

The traditional method of making paper mache adhesive is to use a mixture of water and flour or other starch,

Mixed to the consistency of heavy cream.

Other adhesives can be used if thin to a similar texture,

Such as polyvinyl acetate-based glues,

Often sold as wood glue or craft glue.

Adding oil of cloves or other preservatives,

Such as salt,

To the mixture reduces the chances of the product developing mold.

For the paper strips method,

The paper is cut or torn into strips and soaked in the paste until saturated.

The saturated pieces are then placed onto the surface and allowed to dry slowly.

The strips may be placed on an armature or skeleton,

Often of wire mesh over a structural frame,

Or they can be placed on an object to create a cast.

Oil or grease can be used as a release agent if needed.

Once dried,

The resulting material can be cut,

Sanded,

And or painted,

And waterproofed by painting with a suitable water repelling paint.

Before painting any product of paper mache,

The glue must be fully dried,

Otherwise mold will form and the product will rot from the inside out.

For the pulp method,

The paper is left in water at least overnight to soak,

Or boiled in abundant water until the paper breaks down to a pulp.

The excess water is drained,

An adhesive is added,

And the paper mache applied to a form or especially for smaller or simpler objects sculpted to shape.

History.

Imperial China.

The Chinese during the Han Dynasty appeared to be the first to use paper mache around 200 AD,

Not long after they learned how to make paper.

They employed the technique to make items such as warrior helmets,

Mirror cases,

Snuff boxes,

Or ceremonial masks.

Ancient Egypt.

In ancient Egypt,

Coffins and death masks were often made from cartilage,

Layers of papyrus or linen covered with plaster.

Middle and Far East.

In Persia,

Paper mache has been used to manufacture small painted boxes,

Trays,

Atageries,

And cases.

Japan and China also produced laminated paper articles using paper mache.

In Japan and India,

Paper mache was used to add decorative elements to armor and shields.

Kashmir.

In Kashmir,

India,

Paper mache has been used to manufacture small painted boxes,

Bowls lined with metals,

Trays,

Atageries,

And cases.

It remains highly marketed in India and Pakistan and is part of the luxury ornamental handicraft market.

Europe.

Starting around 1725 in Europe,

Gilded paper mache began to appear as a low-cost alternative to similarly treated plaster or carved wood in architecture.

Henry Clay of Birmingham,

England patented a process for treating laminated sheets of paper with linseed oil to produce waterproof panels in 1772.

These sheets were used to build coach door panels as well as for other structural uses.

Theodore Jinnons patented a process in 1847 for steaming and pressing these laminated sheets in various shapes,

Which were then used to manufacture trays,

Chair backs,

And structural panels,

Usually laid over a wood or metal armature for strength.

The paper mache was smoothed and lacquered or given a pearl shell finish.

The industry lasted through the 19th century.

Russia had a thriving industry in ornamental paper mache.

A large assortment of painted Russian paper mache items appear in a Tiffany and Co catalog from 1893.

Carton Travers,

The England ecclesiastical designer,

Made much use of paper mache for his church furnishings in the 1930s.

Paper mache has been used for doll heads starting as early as 1540,

Molded in two parts from a mixture of paper pulp,

Clay,

And plaster,

And then glued together with the head then smoothed,

Painted,

And varnished.

Carton Pierre consists of paper mache imitating wood,

Stone,

Or bronze,

Especially in architecture.

Mexico Cartonaria,

Or paper mache,

Sculpture is a traditional handcraft in Mexico.

The paper mache works are also called carton piedra,

Rock cardboard,

For the rigidness of the final product.

These sculptures today are generally made for certain yearly celebrations,

Especially for the burning of Judas during Holy Week and various decorative items for Day of the Dead.

However,

They also include piñatas,

Mojigangas,

Masks,

Dolls,

And more made for various other occasions.

There is also a significant market for collectors as well.

Paper mache was introduced into Mexico during the colonial period,

Originally to make items for church.

Since then,

The craft has developed,

Especially in central Mexico.

In the 20th century,

The creation of works by Mexico City artisans Pedro Linares and Carmen Caballo Sevilla were recognized as works of art with patrons such as Diego Rivera.

The craft has become less popular with more recent generations,

But various government and cultural institutions work to preserve it.

Paper boats One common item made in the 19th century in America was the paper canoe,

Most famously made by Waters and Sons of Troy,

New York.

The invention of the continuous sheet paper machine allows paper sheets to be made of any length,

And this made an ideal material for building a seamless boat hole.

The paper of the time was significantly stretchier than modern paper,

Especially when damp,

And this was used to good effect in the manufacture of paper boats.

A layer of thick dampened paper was placed over a hole mold and tacked down at the edges.

A layer of glue was added,

Allowed to dry,

And sanded down.

Additionally,

Layers of paper and glue could be added to achieve the desired thickness,

And cloth could be added as well to provide additional strength and stiffness.

The final product was trimmed,

Reinforced with modern strips at the keel and gun whales to provide stiffness and waterproofed.

Paper racing shells were highly competitive during the late 19th century.

Few examples of paper boats survived.

One of the best known paper boats was the canoe the Maria Teresa,

Used by Nathaniel Holmes Bishop to travel from New York to Florida in 1874-75.

An account of his travels was published in the book,

Voyage of the Paper Canoe.

Paper Observatory Domes Paper mache panels were used in the late 19th century and early 20th century to produce lightweight domes,

Used primarily for observatories.

The domes were constructed over a wooden or iron framework,

And the first ones were made by the same manufacturer that made the early paper boats,

Waters and Sons.

The domes used in observatories had to be light and weighed so that they could easily be rotated to position the telescope opening in any direction,

And large enough so that it could cover the large refractor telescopes in use at the time.

Applications With modern plastics and composites taking over the decorative and structural roles that paper mache played in the past,

Paper mache has become less of a commercial product.

There are exceptions,

Such as micarta,

A modern paper composite,

And traditional applications such as the piñata.

It is still used in cases where the ease of construction and low cost are important,

Such as in arts and crafts.

Carnival Floats Paper mache is commonly used for large temporary sculptures such as carnival floats.

A basic structure of wood,

Metal,

And metal wire mesh such as poultry netting is covered in paper mache.

Once dried,

Details are added.

The paper mache is then sanded and painted.

Carnival floats can be very large and comprise a number of characters,

Props,

And scenic elements all organized around a chosen theme.

It can also accommodate several dozen people,

Including the operators of the mechanisms.

The floats can have movable parts like the facial features of a character or its limbs.

It is not unusual for local professional architects,

Engineers,

Painters,

Sculptors,

And ceramists to take part in the design and construction of the floats.

New Orleans Mardi Gras float maker Blaine Kern,

Operator of the Mardi Gras World Float Museum,

Brings carnival float artists from Italy to work on his floats.

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Truly and utterly devastatingly boring, thank you!! 🥱😴🙏

My best sleep ever! Thank you for boring me to sleep, Benjamin!
Spreading the word to all of my sleep- deprived friends 👍

So interesting can’t sleep incase I miss anything thank you soo much

Perfectly boring for the best entrance to a sound sleep.

I look forward to anything new from you! Incredibly boring, just the way I like it. Thanks for helping me sleep. Works like a charm.