PRODUCTS & SYSTEMS working sheet
Product name: Disposable garbage bags
Manufacturer: Konda manufacturing and American plastic bags inc. are two of the many manufacturing companies that make garbage bags.
Designer: Harry Wasylyk and Larry Hansen of Lindsay worked together to create the very first disposable garbage bag.
Year invented: The disposable garbage bag was invented in 1950 for commercial use.
System of your daily life where this product takes part: the system of my daily life where this takes place is in the system of disposing garbage.
Explain its function and relation to the system: When Harry and Larry invented the disposable garbage, they first intended it to for commercial use rather than at home. The bags were first sold to Winnipeg general hospital. However, Union Carbide later bought the invention and manufactured the first green garbage bags called Glad garbage bags for home use in the late 1960s. The bag is placed inside of a trash can or bin and once it is full of trash, you tie it up, and throw it out for the city to dispose of it. Then you replace your trash bin with another bag. The problem with these garbage bags is that they are often annoying when having to replace because they can sometimes be hard to get it inside the bin.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better?:The problem with garbage bags always comes to the moment you have to replace them, they are simply annoying. They are difficult because it’s not always easy getting the garbage bag correctly inside the bin or can. The bags are always flimsy and get caught to other stuff very easily. There is obviously no solution to this problem because you always have to replace them every time that you need a new one. However, there is definitely room for improvement. There is a possibility of reducing the amount of times you have to replace a garbage bag whenever you take one out. If there were multiple bags joined together, all already inside the bin. You would only have to take them out until you have run out of bags, resulting in a deduction of the amount of times you have to put them in. A solution like this would far less time consuming and it would also make it easier for anyone to take out their garbage.
PRODUCTS & SYSTEMS working sheet
Product name: Plastic lids for cups
Manufacturer: Ribon industries inc., Rappaport sons bottle co inc., and O. Berk company are three plastic lid manufacturing companies.
Designer: it is unknown who designed the plastic lids for cups. They slowly developed after the invention of paper cups by Walter W. Cecil
Year invented: It was invented sometime between 1936 (the year paper cups were invented) and the 1950s.
System of your daily life where this product takes part: The system in which plastic lids for cups take place are in the fast food, plastic, and cultural system.
Explain its function and relation to the system: Plastic lids are intended to cover your drink from spilling when walking and being able to drink from it while walking. People use them everyday on their way to work, school, lunch, home and many more other occasions. They have become a part of the society we live in. Millions of people each day use plastic lids for their fast food drinks and dispose of them later on during the day. They belong to the plastic system, a cultural system and the fast food system.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? Over the years, there has been evidence to prove the danger the production of plastic can cause to the environment. Plastic is a material that does not deteriorate. The mass production and disposal of plastic is leaving no room to store that garbage. Many sea animals have been found dead with on ocean shores with plastic bottle caps and other plastic products inside of them. They confuse these items for food and consume them obliviously. A solution that would make this product easier for garbage companies to dispose is if they were made of paper just like the cup. A solution like that would be far more environment friendly and less damaging to other life on earth.
PRODUCTS & SYSTEMS working sheet
Product name: Electrical outlets
Manufacturer: MAC products, Leviton Manufacturing Co Inc, and Mennekes Electrical products are three manufacturing companies that manufacture electrical outlets for companies to buy and sell.
Designer: Harvey Hubbell designed the electrical outlet.
Year invented: Harvey Hubbell invented the electrical outlet on November 8, 1904.
System of your daily life where this product takes part: Electrical outlets take place in the electric, cultural, and communication system.
Explain its function and relation to the system: Electrical outlets are used to power many electrical appliances like refrigerators, toaster ovens, television, computer desktops and more. But most importantly, in today’s society, they are mostly used to charge phones and laptops. They have become a part of the culture and society we live. The world we live in is powered by social media and texting/ calling/ video chatting. Without electrical outlets, we would not be able to do any of that.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? A significant problem that everyone has when it comes to outlets is not having enough of them. We often find ourselves running out of battery in public. The moment we start looking for an outlet to connect our phones to, they are all being used or the place does not have enough to share with the public. An easy solution to this problem would be making usb outlets instead of using a cube. They are much smaller, take up less space, and can easily be made with multiple connections instead of just two. This would provide more people with access to charge their phones in public or even at home, and could potentially bring more to companies when they have more people inside of their store/business.
PRODUCTS & SYSTEMS working sheet
Product name: Pringles potato chips can
Manufacturer: The Pringles company manufacture their own cans.
Designer: Fredric Baur created the very first Pringles potato chips can that we know today.
Year invented: Fredric Baur invented the Pringles potato chips can in 1966
System of your daily life where this product takes part: Pringles potato chips can take place in the junk food, and youth system.
Explain its function and relation to the system: The Pringles potato chips can is a long tube with a plastic cap at the top. In order to access the chips inside, you reach in and the top of the tube. The purpose of junk food is similar to fast food. It is meant to be a quick and comfortable snack that easily accessible. It plays a big role in the youth system mainly in the school years when students look for a quick snack before and in between or even during classes.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? As we all know, there is one major problem with the Pringles can that has never been addressed. As we’re eating the chips, they suddenly get harder to reach and our arms can’t reach all the way inside because our hands do not fit through the tube. An easy solution to this problem would be making the opening at the bottom of the can. You would pull out the chip from the bottom and the stack would continue to go down similar to the way a vending machine works. However, the chips would do their job in a vertical pattern.
PRODUCTS & SYSTEMS working sheet
Product name: Ceiling extension cords
Manufacturer: King Associates Ltd DBA Kord King Company, US wire & cable corporation, and Electri-cord Manufacturing Co are three manufacturing companies that make extension chords.
Designer:S. W. Atherton invented the extension cord, but it is unknown who decided to put them on ceilings.
Year invented: S. W. Atherton invented the extension cord in 1904.
System of your daily life where this product takes part: Ceiling extension cords are used every day by teachers and students including myself in the making center at parsons.
Explain its function and relation to the system: Ceiling extension cords are the same as any other extension cord, however, these are rolled up, are usually longer and will descend from the ceiling. They have certain measurements where you will hear and feel a click. That is how you know you can let go unless you need more length.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? Ceiling extension cords are very useful. They provide easier access to outlets and offer a wider range of special use. However, they are very hard to reach and already have set lengths. A great solution to this problem would be a remote-control extension cord with an up and down button. It would be smoother when extending and would allow you to choose the exact length that you want your extension cord to have. Another idea could be to place the controlling device on a wall, similar to light switches.
