At least the lawyers kiss you first.

I’m not a huge fan of the legal profession, but compared to the people who package the laundry detergent at warehouse stores, they are squeeky clean.

Why Stop Now, Super-Size It!

About three years ago we consumers were the beneficiaries of a huge step forward in state-of-the-art packaging. Laundry Detergent delivered in new really convenient containers.

But I don’t recall ever saying

Super-Size Me!

I’m sure it saves the manufacturer money. And when we shop at a warehouse store we take what we get, because price is important.

And after all, the manufacturer is actually giving us a choice. We can live with the mess these new packages create when you use them, or we can spend our (free) time pouring the detergent into smaller, easier to handle, bottles.

But wait, there’s a better way!!

Having unlimited faith in American Ingenuity, I went on the hunt for a solution at the US Patent Office. And struck pay-dirt, so to speak.

Issued on December 9, 2008 to Bradley Hildreth of Garden City, NY (US) is Patent No.: US 7,461,761 B2 which describes a “Harness For Suspending Detergent Container”.

American Ingenuity Triumphs!

Because I think that Bradley’s invention is so right-on I’m going to quote directly from his Patent. First an overview of his invention.

A harness for suspending a container having a product dispensing valve, such as a laundry detergent container, generally includes a sling for holding the container therein in an orientation that permits dispensing of a product from the container and at least one strap attached to the sling for suspending the sling from above. The sling further has a valve opening for allowing the product dispensing valve of the container to protrude out of the sling.

Next some background for his invention:

Buying in bulk, especially bulk purchases of non-perishable items such as laundry detergent, has become very popular in recent years. Laundry detergent in particular is readily available in large containers. One of the more popular bulk sizes of laundry detergent is the 300-ounce laundry detergent container that is available in many stores today. Needless to say, a detergent container of this large size is extremely bulky and difficult to handle, particularly when attempting to maneuver the container into position over the opening of the washing machine to dispense detergent therein.

To which the manufactuer will say that they designed the container so it can be laid on it’s side and the liquid dispensed into the handy measuring cup.

Right.

And if you liked the Exxon Valdez, you’ll love their measuring cups.