Unfortunately it can't turn your cat into a dog

April 18, 2020 3:43 AM

Samsung redesigned its TV boxes to be easily converted into cat houses.
posted by Literaryhero (30 comments total)

When I was a kid, I have lovely memories of taking the form-fitting inserts from ice cream cone boxes and turning them into spaceships (the two rows of cones looking just like twin engines). Later on, I guess the company that made them caught on that kids were doing this and started including spaceship bling stickers in every box to help decorate them. Now that's damn good marketing.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 3:53 AM on April 18, 2020 [23 favorites]

My cats approve of this initiative.
posted by biggreenplant at 4:33 AM on April 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

Well that puts the "meow" in "homeowner".
posted by Daily Alice at 4:55 AM on April 18, 2020 [115 favorites]

Cathouses? I think there's going to be disappointment in some quarters...
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:17 AM on April 18, 2020 [12 favorites]

AlonzoMosleyFBI, you reminded me that when I was a kid, many decades ago, my father brought home a couple of cardboard boxes large enough to ship pianos in. I mean, they were huge. Made a "shuttlecraft Galileo" from Star Trek out of them, one that you could go inside and play in. Good times!
posted by jabah at 5:28 AM on April 18, 2020 [9 favorites]

I understand the appeal of boxes. I am not alone in this.
posted by Fizz at 5:55 AM on April 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

"The company didn’t go into detail about what makes the type of cardboard its using more eco-friendly, but presumably, and hopefully, it will include a higher percentage of recycled materials."

Hopefully. Otherwise, sounds like greenwashing.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:12 AM on April 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

But having a cat postpones the inevitable sorrow.

Daily Alice is a genius. Just wanted to say that.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 7:12 AM on April 18, 2020

As my daughter said, "This shows there is still good in the world."
posted by thatwhichfalls at 7:19 AM on April 18, 2020 [3 favorites]

What I can't figure out is if they have found a way to move away from using giant foam inserts inside the cardboard boxes. I can find a lot about this change and a move last year to use less plastic - but that seemed to focus on soft plastics and small electronics. It seems like those big foam inserts are the main problem in TV packaging but I can't tell if they have gone or will go away.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:27 AM on April 18, 2020

Unfortunately it can't turn your cat into a dog

I demand to speak to your manager
posted by sugar and confetti at 7:55 AM on April 18, 2020 [16 favorites]

Why would anyone want to turn their cat into a dog? Cat people and dog people want different things in a pet. I do like the idea of the cat house box though. Nothing against dog people, just that we are different. Whichever you are is good for you.
posted by mermayd at 8:02 AM on April 18, 2020 [14 favorites]

How do I get the box without a tv?
posted by jb at 8:14 AM on April 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

So... Samsung is giving us all Animal Crossing DIY recipes for cardboard furniture?
posted by Automocar at 8:19 AM on April 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

Unfortunately?
posted by Old Kentucky Shark at 8:34 AM on April 18, 2020 [5 favorites]

i see there's been a toxoplasmosis outbreak in their marketing department

good

good
posted by Jacqueline at 9:17 AM on April 18, 2020 [10 favorites]

Cathouses? I think there's going to be disappointment in some quarters...

The red USB rechargeable LED only lasts 5hrs?
posted by 2N2222 at 10:22 AM on April 18, 2020

Unfortunately it can't turn your cat into a dog

If it did, it wouldn't be HDCP compliant.

He's
Deuteronomy from that
Cats
Production
posted by Reyturner at 12:47 PM on April 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

My cats approve of this initiative.

My cat will probably ignore this initiative.

As soon as something is officially "for her" it has no charm. She must claim things and hear the lamentations of her owners.
posted by srboisvert at 1:16 PM on April 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

I demand to speak to your manager

This FPP sponsored by The Coalition of Dogs for Johnny Wallflower.
posted by Literaryhero at 1:18 PM on April 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

I mean, good for you, Samsung, and that’s really nice of you and all, but Japanese delivery company Kuroneko Yamato sells boxes printed to look like their delivery trucks and they come with instructions on how to make them into little cat trucks.

Why yes, we have one, and whenever one of the cats goes inside, we ask it if today is a busy day, and if they have a lot of deliveries to make.
posted by Ghidorah at 1:31 PM on April 18, 2020 [25 favorites]

this post’s title is bad

There are dog people, and then there are dog people, for whom the whole world is a series of lampposts.
posted by acb at 2:43 PM on April 18, 2020 [3 favorites]

I demand to speak to your manager

This FPP sponsored by The Coalition of Dogs for Johnny Wallflower.

Johnny Wallflower is a friend to cats.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:54 PM on April 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

OMG jabah, my father brought home a *humongous* cardboard box that was used to ship a giant (like for a whole big building) air conditioning unit. He did some cuts and stuff and we had a full on little playhouse in the basement with a pitched roof, door, windows, skylight, table and chairs, the works. The walls were like 3/4" thick and strong enough for me to climb up onto the roof. We hung pictures on the walls and everything.

Bonus: #23 Cardboard pet carrier - HOW TO CRAFT SAFETY - make an emergency pet carrier from a box.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:02 PM on April 18, 2020 [7 favorites]

All they need to do now is to design their phones to be easily converted into phones.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 1:14 AM on April 20, 2020

I remember when my Mom's office got Gateway computers. Everyone got to take home a cow box for their kids to play in.
posted by nestor_makhno at 10:05 AM on April 20, 2020

I love the idea. I'm not convinced any cat I've known would enjoy this. I'm going to hold out for the cat tree and scratching post version.
posted by eotvos at 11:53 AM on April 20, 2020

We ordered 6 chairs in the winter and ended up having 6 large boxes delivered to us. We quickly ordered a cardboard knife, and then later some cardboard fasteners and our kids made a large playhouse, shields, and other things with them - my daughter made a Z-bracelet (a Pokemon thing) out of extra cardboard for her brother yesterday. We still have a huge sofa box in the garage but the playhouse is already taking up a lot of space so that'll likely get recycled once I break it down for collection.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:14 PM on April 20, 2020

I love packaging which turns into a useful object.

My family collects little beer mugs that a particular brand of German mustard comes in -- my parents buy it because they like the mustard, and I don't even like the mustard that much but I buy it because I like the mugs.

For one brief shining moment, Nutella came in Asterix-themed glasses.

I was delighted to find out about the history of feedsack dresses -- especially the anecdotes about husbands under strict instructions to obtain multiple bags with a specific matching print, regardless of the contents.

When I was a child, the brand of margarine that my parents bought came in high-quality decorative plastic tubs with flexible lids, which were reusable as tupperware. At some point they switched to cheaper tubs with crappier lids and branding on the side, and I'm still salty about it 30 years later.
posted by confluency at 8:40 PM on April 20, 2020

I sometimes buy fancy goats milk butter that comes in glass jars with plastic lids that are meant to be reused. The problem is, I can't bring myself to throw them away, but I don't have an actual use for a bunch of tiny glass jars.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:05 PM on April 20, 2020