The Milk of the 2020s: What Would Howie Think?
Howie, from "The Mezzanine," constantly admires the world around him. He loves to spot overlooked inventions by long forgotten inventors. One particular instance where this love is deeply discussed in Howie's narration is the milk carton. Howie is awestruck by the genius of the milk carton's triangular lip which creates "an ideal pourer, a better pourer than a circular bottle opening or a pitcher's mouth because you could create a very fine stream of milk very simply" (Baker 78-79). This appreciation for something because of it's practicality speaks directly to Howie's character. Howie's appreciation for the milk carton's pouring mechanism goes much farther than a love of the ingenuity, delving also into a concern for the stupidity of the Cascade dishwashing detergent boxes. These boxes, he is also deeply in love with, but he is also confused by the glued flaps of cardboard that devolved away from the main design of the packaging...