Double-Wrapped to Keep Flavor In?

I would have liked to submit a more serious blog, but it's no good.  I just have to vent about the multi-layered wrapping and packaging around just about everything that I have recently bought.

Scenario: Toothbrush was looking a little the worse for wear. I hated to part with it...it was a good friend to me.  Maybe using it to get into all sorts of little crevices in and around the bathroom may have caused the bristles to splay out a little, but then none of us have totally resisted the aging process.  No sense of longevity or loyalty with these modern brushes. 

I went into the pharmaceutical section of a local store to buy a replacement toothbrush. Easey peasey, right?  Well, you're half right. One may buy the item, but getting into the packaging is quite a different kettle of fish - or should I say, set of teeth.

I took the new item out of the plastic shopping bag to find the toothbrush wrapped in a simulated see-through plastic coffin.

"How hard can this be?" I thought. 

I tried opening the coffin-like case with my finger nails, broke several, cursed mightily, then to use a military phrase, fell back to re-group.  I paused to file down torn nails and attach bandages where required.  I attacked the casing again, this time with scissors. Note: never try this with little nail scissors... a machete, maybe, but not nail scissors. They bend, but to give them their due, they did make a hole in the non-bubble part of the casing as well as scoring a two inch scratch in the granite counter top. They did not even make a dent in the main bubble. Now, knowing that inside this inpenetrable plastic bubble was my new toothbrush, my frustration level rose to being quite miffed about this whole process.

I tried nibbling and then chewing round the edges, knowing that a mother's saliva will act as paint stripper when required, but ended up with jabbing a piece of plastic into my gums. (That's another visit to the dentist - my thrill for next week, apparantly).   

Luckily, I remembered a piece of old folklore (actually I think it was a facebook tip) that said...."To break into difficult plastic bubble wraps,  one should use a can opener!"  Are you kidding me? How many of us have can openers hanging round the bathroon sink?  I just wanted a simple toothbrush.  I now have  broken fingernails, bandaids on three of my fingers, bent nail scissors, scratched counter top and lacerated gums. (Thank goodness, I left the machete in the garage.)

I am contemplating buying an electric toothbrush, but wait a moment - the replacement heads come in bubble packs!  Get the can opener ready! 

For goodness sake, put on the kettle - it must be tea time somewhere.