Go Look. It's True

There is a vast conspiracy to get me to open my cereal boxes backwards

Uhm...backwards?  Or are you just opening them upside-down so you can get to the toy faster?  

So I don't eat cereal very often, but when I do, it comes from a box.  I didn't quite realize just how much engineering went into the packaging and design of the box until recently when I stumbled upon the answer to an age-old question I had often pondered.  I've always felt that I was doing something wrong when I go to pour myself some cereal and I'm invariably left looking at the back of the box instead of the front.  Was it mere coincidence that this happens?  I say no!  The cereal company designed the box specifically to be opened so that when pouring, the front side of the box faces away from the pourer so others can see what cereal is being eaten.  Fact!  

Incidentally, I have this same problem with a coffee mug of mine, which I whine about ALL THE TIME.  You can ask people....it's true.  

Anyway...here's how they do it.  

So roughly 80-90% of the population is right handed, and thus would tend to pour cereal into a bowl using their dominant right hand.  So, it stands to reason that when opening the inner bag of a box of cereal, you would pull open the left side.  You use your right hand to tip the box to the left, cereal comes out.  Simple.  So why wouldn't it be a 50% chance which face of the box is facing you when you open the left-hand side?  Because the top flap, which is glued shut, is ALWAYS part of the front face.  The flap attached to the back face is the part that has the little slot in it.  Always.  The only way to open the cereal box is to turn it so the front side is facing away from you and slide your finger between the top two flaps to release the glue.  Once this is accomplished, you're left with little choice but to open the side the cereal company wants you to open, thus showing off the front face of the cereal box to the world.  You've now paid several dollars for a portable billboard for the cereal company, and all you get out of it is a part of a balanced breakfast.