Retro Riddles: Can You Guess These Outdated Gizmos?

7. How Did You Open This?

If you can hear the sound this container produced when opened, hands up. Most people over thirty years old may probably hear it as clear as day as Nestle Quick was a major part of most people's early years. Indeed, it was great and a joy to have on a hot summer's day; yet, opening this product proved to be most fascinating. What then was your opening method? You perfected the milkshake, chocolate or not, if you grabbed a spoon and pryed the bottom end open. For many youngsters, the unique pop of the Nestle Quick lid was a Pavlovian signal for a sweet, chocolatey pleasure.

As children worked out the best approach to open this apparently basic container, they developed problem-solving abilities. Opening the tin started to be as much of a ritual as drinking the flavored milk itself became. For many, it was their first taste of kitchen independence—a little step toward self-reliance. The design of the container also relates to a period before general child-proofing, when packaging wasn't always easy to use. With push-button lids and simple-open tabs nowadays, the gratification of at last prying open a stubborn Nestle Quick lid is lost. This nostalgic reminiscence reminds us of how even ordinary objects could affect our early experiences and produce lifelong memories.