Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Mint Muffler

the sweet smell of silence...
 
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More and more mints/ sweets are being packaged in handy plastic/ cardboard dispensers.

The problem - sounding like a maraca as I walk through the office.

It's gotten to the point where I don't buy mints in boxes any more. It seems freshness in 2 calories comes with a price.

Enter the Mint Muffler, haven't got the exact details down yet... Here are a few options.

Cavity packaging. Picturing a clear plastic box with a vacuum cavity wall. Not sure about its effectiveness, both cost and sound proving.

Padded lining to the container. Should deaden any rattle nicely.

False wall one one side of the dispenser, eliminate free space - no rattle.

Individual bubble wrap jackets for each mint... All the fun of monkey nuts/ bubble wrap and fresh breath. Could be a winner.

RockHopper, Mar 15 2003

PEZ http://pezco.secure...ew.php?offerCode=22
They were spring loaded 'candy' dispensers. They don't rattle. [Jinbish]

Not minty but very maracary. http://www.halfbake...idea/Maracaknockers [Jinbish, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Not minty but very maracary. http://www.halfbake...idea/Maracaknockers
[squeak, Oct 04 2004]

[link]






       I thought this was going to be either:
1) scented exhaust pipe for automobiles
2) scented scarves to enjoy when you wrap it around your face in *really* cold weather.
Cedar Park, Mar 16 2003
  

       You could make the container a spring loaded type, Pez dispenser.   

       I think this is a great idea because I identify with it. I carry mints and I sound like a maraca.
bristolz, Mar 16 2003
  

       Take the mints out of the container and put them in a ziploc bag.
Gulherme, Mar 16 2003
  

       Ahh, continental breakfast, the smell of croissant in the morning.   

       <wiping brow> and phew survived first post </wiping brow>   

       [reensure], the cavity idea might be more of a personal refillable product. Possibly moving to a rare metal dispenser, thereby adding some serious bling to the whole mint experience. I don't see how sound will penatrate the vacuum cavity (no particles to transmit vibrations). That would just leave the entrance to the container. Perhaps someone with a thermos could test this one out.   

       [cedar], sorry. I think your scarf would be great though. \\scented scarves to enjoy when you wrap it around your face in *really* cold weather\\ Monster head freeze   

       [bristolz], we could start a band?
RockHopper, Mar 16 2003
  

       Ok, think I'm on to something here. How about an anti- mint rattle noise generator. It could be either seperate from the mint dispenser or integrated. The moment a mint rattle sound wave is detected, an equal but oppositely phased sound wave is produced to counter act the impact.
RockHopper, Mar 16 2003
  

       Custard-Filled Mint containers!
Cedar Park, Mar 16 2003
  

       I hate that rattling too! The solution I found was to put the tic-tacs pack in my back pocket. I have no idea why, but it works.
roby, Mar 16 2003
  

       I favor the little Starbucks after-coffee mints because they are so very strong (and I still eat 5 at a time). They are in a little tin so, actually, I sound like a cheap tinny maraca like what a kid might receive in her Christmas stocking.   

       Perhaps there is a market for mints that have a soft pliable outer coating that dissolves quickly leaving the hard mint.
bristolz, Mar 16 2003
  

       How about a "snail" type mint magazine, like the ones used on the Lewis gun and the M1 Thompson ? As mints are removed from one end of the spiral, a spring loaded follower keeps the remaining mints under gentle pressure, preventing rattling.   

       A special reloading machine can be used to refill the unit (which would look a bit like a tape measure) from a bulk tank of mints.
8th of 7, Mar 17 2003
  

       Spring loaded sweet dispenser? Sounds like PEZ to me.
Jinbish, Mar 17 2003
  

       I'd advocate a louder mint case so that [bristolz] sounds more like a maraca.
hippo, Mar 17 2003
  

       "You're in a band? Cool! What do you play?"
"Mint box."
roby, Mar 17 2003
  

       uhhm, im not in a band but why not just use breath strips. small, convenient, cost comparable and silent.
onewetleg, Jun 07 2003
  

       Just use some of that free cotton fluff that comes with aspirin or vitamins. Empty box, place cotton in box, pour mints back into cottony recess,........no more rattle.
Cosmo, Sep 10 2003
  

       Hell, boy. Don't fight the rattle, WORK it! (see link). Under-boob-mounted-mint-dispensing-latin-rhythm-maracaknocker-bra.   

       For overworked percussionists with bad breath?
squeak, Sep 10 2003
  

       I often had this problem when I used mints. I don't anymore, but I had the same problem with Altoids gum, which comes in a tin---*until* I got smart and bought a bunch of the gum wholesale and kept refilling one tin till it was stuffed. Voila--no more rattling.
disbomber, Apr 05 2005
  
      
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