In response to my recent post on school lunch, a guest blog entry courtesy of reader Christina Znidarsic, on the joys of her school’s ill-conceived and short-lived milk pouch experiment:

When I was in 7th grade, our forward-thinking but not very bright administrators introduced “milk pouches” to our school. These were square plastic bags, sealed on all four edges and corners, filled with milk. A straw with a pointed edge would then be jabbed into the center of the pouch, permitting access to the milk. The idea was to cut down on trash volume generated by hundreds of milk cartons being tossed into the garbage bins every day, by replacing them with small, easily collapsible plastic bags.

The intention was noble, but waste management was not on the minds of 200-odd grade schoolers when they encountered the milk pouches for the first time. The bags were the perfect size for juvenile hands to grasp, insert straw, and squeeze firmly. In essence, the school had just armed 200 children with ready-made long-range milk guns, of both the white and chocolate variety.

The pouches were in effect for the next week or so while the school ran out of the supply it had initially ordered. That period became known as the “7-Day Milk War of 1994.” Then cartons resumed prominence and the pouches were never heard from again.