Blog

Stay informed. Our latest innovations.
Our blog covers a diverse range of topics related to packaging, including innovations, processes, future needs, and more. These articles are written by industry professionals as well as experts from Packaging Connections, who have decades of hands-on experience in the packaging industry.
Join Our Community of Contributors

We believe in the power of sharing knowledge and fostering innovation. If you are a packaging professional with insights and experiences to share, we invite you to contribute to our blog. This is a great opportunity to share your expertise, reach a global audience, and engage with a community passionate about packaging.

How to Contribute

To express your interest in contributing, please reach out to us at info@packagingconnections.com. Our team will review your request and guide you through the next steps. Whether you have a groundbreaking innovation, an in-depth analysis, or valuable industry insights, we look forward to collaborating with you.

For Companies

Companies are also welcome to publish their blogs on our platform to promote their business and share their packaging solutions. If your company has a story to tell or a solution to showcase, contact us at info@packagingconnections.com. Together, we can highlight your contributions to the packaging industry.

What We Offer
  • Share your knowledge and expertise with a global audience.
  • Promote innovative packaging solutions and industry best practices.
  • Engage with a community of like-minded professionals.
  • Enhance your professional visibility and credibility.
Contact Us

Interested in contributing? Email us at info@packagingconnections.com to get started. We look forward to hearing from you and working together to advance the field of packaging.

Explore Our Blog

Browse through our existing posts to see the wide range of topics we cover, and get inspired by the innovative solutions and insights shared by fellow professionals. Your contribution could be the next highlight on our blog!

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Don't miss out on the latest updates! Sign up for our Namaste Packaging newsletter and join our community of over 100,000 packaging professionals. Get the latest news, trends, and innovations delivered straight to your inbox.

Submit Your Blog

History’s Oddest Packaging

#}
Profile picture for user sandeepg.connect011
Sandeep Goyal
September
13
/ 2025

History’s Oddest Packaging

Packaging has always been more than just a container. It tells us about the culture, the technology, and even the eccentricities of the time. While today’s designs lean toward sleek minimalism or eco-friendly innovation, history is littered with some truly oddball packaging choices. Things that make you wonder: What were they thinking?

Let’s take a walk through time and peek at some of history’s strangest packaging inventions.

Victorian Perfume Eggs

Victorian Perfume Eggs Packaging

Imagine receiving a delicate porcelain egg, painted with florals, only to crack it open and find… perfume. Yes, in the 19th century, perfumers experimented with “scented eggs” as gifts. These eggs often contained solid perfume or fragrant powders. They weren’t meant to be eaten, but rather displayed, sniffed, and sometimes even tucked into handbags as portable air fresheners. Strange, beautiful, and oddly impractical because who wants to carry around a breakable egg in their purse?

Chocolate in Medicine Tins

Chocolate in Medicine Tins Packaging

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, chocolate was still marketed as a “health product.” Some brands packaged it in tins eerily similar to pillboxes, complete with clinical instructions. To modern eyes, it looks like you’re dosing yourself with chocolate pills rather than enjoying a sweet treat. It was packaging that blurred the line between indulgence and prescription.

Snail Jars of Ancient Rome - Gliraria

Snail Jars of Ancient Rome - Gliraria Packaging

 

Romans adored delicacies, and fattened snails were high on the list. To keep them alive and fresh, sellers used special clay jars with air holes. Picture a rustic terracotta pot full of squirming snails on a kitchen shelf; it’s not exactly the kind of packaging you’d want to show off at dinner. Yet for the Romans, it was perfectly normal grocery storage.

Perfumed Vinegar Bottles with Dippers

                     Perfumed Vinegar Bottles with Dippers Packaging

During the Renaissance, vinegar wasn’t just for cooking. People believed perfumed vinegar could ward off disease, so it was sold in ornate glass bottles with tiny dipper sticks. Buyers would dab a little under their noses to “purify the air” (miasma theory). The packaging was more like a miniature scientific instrument than a condiment bottle: functional, fashionable, and slightly bizarre.

Cigarettes in Postcard Packs     

       Cigarettes in Postcard Packs Packaging

Early 20th-century tobacco companies sometimes packaged cigarettes in what looked like postcards or greeting cards. They served a dual purpose: to keep cigarettes from being crushed and to provide collectors with incentives to buy more products to complete a set of these trading cards. A clever marketing trick!

What Odd Packaging Teaches Us

These oddities may seem laughable today, but they remind us that packaging is always a reflection of its time. Whether it’s a Victorian obsession with ornamentation, a medieval reliance on natural materials, or a Roman love of fresh delicacies, the containers we use tell a cultural story.

And who knows? In 200 years, future historians might look back at our single-use plastics, QR-coded labels, or edible coffee cups and scratch their heads too.