Hell hath no fury like ... me trying to get past stupid packaging to the product I paid good money for and I want to use now. Not in an hour's time when I finally get the damn thing open.

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The new roll of kitchen tidy bags for some reason shrink wrapped so tightly in plastic, scissors are needed to get it open.

The tray of cold cuts with the words "Peel here" in the top left hand corner - a cruel hoax because not even the most dexterous fingers can manage it.

The child- and tamper-proof pill bottle which, once finally open, reveals another layer of protection - a plasticated cardboard seal with tiny tabs that refuse to budge. A fierce tussle ensues before the liberated contents are scattered all over the bathroom floor.

For years, I thought it was just me, the never ending struggle with packaging a symptom of age. Imagine the relief when I discovered I was not alone, that there's a term for my seething anger, which has been around for almost a quarter of a century.

"Wrap rage" first appeared in a 2003 article in the UK Telegraph. A survey of 2000 Brits in 2004 found that 99 per cent of respondents believed packaging had become more difficult to open in the preceding 10 years. By 2006, the US version of Choice, Consumer Reports, had even created the Oyster Awards, recognising the hardest-to-open products.

The irony is that much of the stubborn packaging is used to protect consumers from injury. But opening those wretched heat sealed blister packs often results in injury as knives and box cutters are employed - to get at the new knives and box cutters sealed inside. If the tool you've resorted to using doesn't hurt you, the sharp cut plastic will. Just ask my long-suffering fingers.

The enshittifcation of packaging has been accompanied by another baffling phenomenon - the unboxing video. Take an interest in any new product online and there's a good chance your social media feed will fill up with idiotic reels of pimply young nerds opening the packaging the thing comes in. Watches, cameras, drones, smartphones, remote controlled toy helicopters, you name it,........

© Canberra Times