Today we have another example of why there are those late-night television ads that start “Do you have a great idea or invention?” The July issue of Wired describes the story of a technology that was a vast improvement on a commonly used product, but could not gain widespread acceptance in the market.
The packing noodle, and the packaging that was part of the problem
Let us mourn the packing noodle, which was recently taken off the shelves by 3M after a promising start – transmitting far less shock and providing much more cushioning than the packing peanut. But between the overwhelming market presence of the packing peanut and the practice of selling the noodles in sheets (requiring customers to break them apart before using them), this successful invention became a failed product.
Pasco Phronesis 