Every now and then, some new technology just strikes you as cool, like the original iPod or those super thin soft drink cans.

Here’s the box that my new pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 15 running shoes came in.

A good box for a fine pair of shoes. Sturdy. Rugged. Solid. What you’re seeing here is the complete box, with double-thick sides and lid with a double thick front, all cut from a single piece of cardboard. No fasteners — staples, for example — tape, or adhesives. Just snapped together so precisely that I kept expecting to find at least a couple of glued edges, like what you see if you take a cereal box apart. Nothing. Thirty seconds after I started to unfold it, it was ready for recycling.

It was only a dozen years ago that this level of precision was reserved for things like milling parts for advanced jet fighters.

Anybody know whether the original folding of the box was done manually or also by automated equipment?