Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time for the annual Consumer Reports “Oyster Awards!”

Celebrating hard to open packages, the “Oyster Awards” is no simple snark-fest. The heroes at Consumer Reports start by “sifting through nominations from subscribers.” (That’s where you come in.) They don’t give up there, though! Consumer Reports shops for the types of products mentioned most, find worse examples, and study the packages in their labs.

Finally, a reporter is challenged with the task of opening the nominated packages. He/she is timed, and the order of the choices is based on “a combination of the time it took to crack the package and the potential hazard involved.”

Now Consumer Reports is asking us for your help. Get on over to their website and nominate a package for this year’s awards.

Also, take a look at last year’s winners, and as a special bonus, we’ve included a link to a blog post from Feb 2005. This particular blog post contains the story of the time our father bought us a large kitchen knife that could not be removed from the package without the aid of… a large kitchen knife. Enjoy! — MEGHANN MARCO

Nominate! [Consumer Reports]
Last Years Oyster Awards [Consumer Reports]
Knives [Meghann Marco]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.