Box

For other uses, see Box (disambiguation).

"Boxes" redirects here. For other uses, see Boxes (disambiguation).

An empty corrugated box, made of cardboard

An elaborate wooden box

Box describes a variety of containers and receptacles. When no specific shape is described, a typical rectangular box may be expected. Nevertheless, a box may have a horizontal cross section that is square, elongated, round or oval; sloped or domed top surfaces, or non-vertical sides.

A decorative box normally may be opened by raising, pulling, sliding or removing the lid, which may be hinged and/or fastened by a catch, clasp, lock, or adhesive tape. Whatever its shape or purpose or the material of which it is fashioned, it is the direct descendant of the chest, one of the most ancient articles of domestic furniture. Its uses are innumerable, and the name, preceded by a qualifying adjective, has been given to many objects of artistic or antiquarian interest. Objects are often placed inside boxes, for a variety of reasons.

A common storage box has the shape of a cuboid or right rectangular prism. Other shaped boxes are also in use.

Packaging Boxes

A corrugated box

Several types of boxes are used in packaging and storage.

• A corrugated box is a shipping container made of corrugated fiberboard rather than solid paperboard. These are most commonly used to transport and warehouse products during distribution.

• A folding carton (sometimes called a box) is fabricated from paperboard. The paperboard is printed (if necessary), die-cut and scored to form a blank. These are transported and stored flat, and erected at the point of filling. These are used to package a wide range of consumer goods.

• A "set up" box (or rigid paperboard box) is made of a non-bending grade of paperboard. Unlike folding cartons, these are assembled at the point of manufacture and transported already "set-up". Set-up boxes are more expensive than folding boxes and are typically used for high value items such as cosmetics and gift boxes.

• A wooden box is related to a wooden crate.

• Depending on locale and specific usage, the terms carton and box are sometimes used interchangeably.

Permanent boxes

Numerous types of boxes are used in permanent installations. Permanent boxes include the following:

Equipment boxes

• Fuse box

Compartments

• Luxury box
• Mailbox
• safe or "strong box"

Shelters or booths

• Police box, a booth for police use
• Signal box, a building by a railway to coordinate and control railway signals
• Telephone box, or telephone booth, a booth containing a public telephone

Decorative boxes

Main article: Decorative boxes

A jewel box lined with red velvet

Jewelry box

A jewelry (AmE) or jewellery (BrE) box, is a receptacle for trinkets, not only jewels. It may take a very modest form, covered in leather and lined with satin, or it may reach the monumental proportions.

Bible box

A Bible Box is a box made to hold Bibles. These boxes started being manufactured in the 17th century.

Etui

The etui is an ornamental box for carrying in your pocket or purse, with small tools like folding scissors, needles, hairpins, makeup pencils, etc. 18th century etui Some etui were used to carry doctors' lancets.

Wooden wine box

Wooden wine boxes, also known as wooden wine crates are used to ship and store expensive wines in transit. Most wineries that use wooden boxes engrave their logo and designs on the front panel. These panels are usually highly detailed and used by wine collectors as decoration pieces for their bars or wine cellars. A typical wooden wine box holds either 6 or 12 750 ML bottles.

Types of box

• Box (wood), a wooden box for packaging or storage. See also crate.
• Ballot box, a box in which votes (ballot papers) are deposited during voting
• Black box, something for which the internal operation is not described but its function is
• Black box (transportation), a durable data-recording device found in some vehicles, used to assist in the investigation of an accident
• Coach box, the driver's seat on a carriage or coach

• Glory box or Hope Chest, a box or chest containing items typically stored by unmarried young women in anticipation of married life.
• Lunch box, or "lunch pail" or "lunch kit", a rigid container used for carrying food
• Mitre box, a woodworking tool used to guide a hand saw to make precise mitre cuts in a board
• Set-top box, a device used to decode and display TV signals
• Nest box, a substitute for a hole in a tree for birds to make a nest in.
• Toolbox, (or tool box), a box for tools
• Pandora's box, in Greek mythology, a box containing the evils of mankind and also hope
• Dispatch box, (or despatch box), a box for holding official papers and transporting them
• Box, informal reference to large box-shaped parts of a computer, such as the base unit or tower case of a personal computer.
• Torsion box, consists of two skins applied to a core material, light in weight, functions as a beam

Postal service

• Post office box, (often abbreviated P.O. box or PO box), a uniquely-addressable lockable box located in a post office station.
• Post box (British English and others, also written postbox), or mailbox (North American English and others) is a physical box used to collect mail that is to be sent to a destination. Varieties of post boxes for outgoing mail include:

• Lamp box
• Pillar box
• Wall box
• Ludlow wall box

• Post box, can refer to a letter box for incoming mail

Other

• Phreaking boxes, devices used by phone phreaks to perform various functions normally reserved for operators and other telephone company employees
• Vermilion box, a hypothetical portable improvised line emulator

References and sources

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)