My housemate, Ged, is addicted to unboxing videos. He watches people get their new shoes, gadgets, or whatever. They carefully unwrap them, exclaiming as each piece is revealed. They enjoy the packaging as much as the product it protects.

Personally I have never understood the appeal. I asked him once if he watches them to see what something is like before he buys it but he said no. He often watches the unboxing of cosmetic sets and he doesn’t wear make-up. “It’s the beautiful design.” He’s an art and design grad student. “And I think the anticipation. I dunno. I just like them.”

I thought of him today because I was on unboxing duty. I even considered recording it on my phone for him but decided I didn’t want to enable his rather bizarre hobby. The boxes I w...

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