When you visit music store Melodies & Memories in Eastpointe, Michigan, make sure to get a look at owner Dan Zieja's collection of 3,000 lunch boxes in addition to browsing the CDs. For those who can't visit, Wired's photography blog Raw File provides this gallery of select lunch boxes with accompanying lunch box history, from 1935's first licensed character lunch box featuring Mickey Mouse, to the end of the lunch box "golden era" in 1987 when plastic replaced metal. [Photograph: Jim Merithew / Wired.com] More

The last time I covered a lunchbox, you all chimed in with your requests for a suitable adult version. I'm digging the design of this new product by Black + Blum, the Box Appetit ($22). It's extremely clever: Not only does the box have compartments for your miscellaneous lunch needs, but everything wraps up in a Velcro-sealed tote ($7) that completely unfolds to become a picnic-like mat. More

Photograph: Justin Goeres from LAVA Cafe Society lists their picks for the 10 worst lunch boxes ever, but to my eyes they're 10 of the best lunch boxes ever! Then again, I say that never having to tote one with me to school. I don't recall growing up with lunch boxes proclaiming "DISCO" or "CAMPUS QUEENS" during my '90s childhood. And as much as I love "The Exciting World of Metrics," I can see why wielding it might make the owner a target of a swift beating. (On that note, check out Justin Goeres' photos of the lunch box, which show how supremely awesome it is. If you're not prepubescent.) Did you own any of these lunch boxes (or... More

Back-to-school shopping is usually all about the clothes, but for gourmands in the making the right lunchbox is just as important. In support of the Future Foodies of America (FFA), I decided to go on a serious hunt for the coolest, most epically awesome lunchbox I could find. What I discovered was a hell of a lot more fun than I'd ever imagined—in fact, the Goodbyn almost made me want to go back to school. Aside from having a really cute name, the Goodbyn features a smart design that's both practical and environmentally proactive—a tough combination to master given the reputation of eco-friendly products as sometimes underperforming or requiring more work compared to non-green counterparts. Besides being made of... More

Neat. [via swissmiss]... More

With the help of two small hinges and a Sasquatch action figure, one hungry gamer turned his broken Nintendo into a lunchbox. This might be the first time any sober person above the age of nine has put an NES into a refrigerator. Thanks to his handy instructions, now you can do the same.... More