Packages ARE getting harder to open (it's physics, folks!)

[Byrd]

You might be getting older, but the reason that bottles and cans and so forth seem to be harder to open is that they ARE getting harder to open.  The reason is physics.

Nope, the laws haven't changed, but what has changed is the manufacturing standards.  Bottle mouths are now slightly narrower, which means you need more force to twist the caps... and so on.

Nice little article here that gets into the details (including an upcoming issue with attached cap tops that's hitting Europe right now.)

Clicky-linky: It's not just you... really.

[Karl12]

Good to know it's not just me.



It took me about five minutes to open this bag of crisps the other day lol (honestly)

[sahgwa]

weak girly men
need training from hanz and franz
we gonna pump
you

up

[Encia22]

Yes, here in Europe we now have bottle caps that must stay tethered to the collar. Some fold back and with an audible click, stay in a horizontal position.

Cheaper products are problematic; they hang loose and spin around to block the drinking procedure or they just want to spring back to cover the bottle's mouth, making draining your drink directly from the bottle quite difficult, especially when drinking one-handed.

My solution is to rip the sucker off... problem solved. Actually, it's quite therapeutic. 

Instead, to overcome the other problem of actually opening the damn things, especially the smaller caps, I grip the cap and twist the bottle... more leverage.

However, my iron grip isn't what it used to be, so even glass jars with large diameter lids are sometimes a problem. Solution, whack around the edge of the lid with the back of a knife... When the anti-tamper button pops up, it's good to go and open sesame.