Cardboard boxes are scored before folding so the material bends along a clean straight line.

The longer version

Creasing a sheet before folding crushes the fibres along a narrow line, so the board knows exactly where to give way. Without a score, folding compresses the outer face and tears the inner one at a random spot, producing a bulging and weak corner. A scored fold stays straight and lets panels meet at a true right angle.

The crease is made with a blunt rule pressed into a groove rather than with a blade, so the sheet keeps its strength while gaining a hinge. Cartons are die-cut so that cutting, creasing and punching happen in one pass, which is why flat-packed boxes arrive with crisp edges and fold into shape with no tools or glue.

Where this entry sits

Odd Little Things looks at the ordinary objects people touch every day and the small mechanisms and histories hiding inside them. Buttons, zips, pencils, mirrors, stairs, stamps, packaging, and road signs all get their turn. The full list sits on the Odd Little Things page, where every entry is listed in order.