Editing Crate (section)

=== History ===
{{See also|wikt:crate#Etymology}}
Crates had been used for many years without a clear origin in documented history. Modern crates from the early 20th century demonstrate a very evolved technology already considering practical and economic considerations built into crate designs. Moving heavy products such as enamelled cast iron sinks, bath tubs, and lavatories was often done without any packaging prior to 1910, which lead to nearly 20% losses due to chipping of the enamel in shipping. Some manufacturers assumed that protecting the product in rugged crating would reduce their losses, however, they found that railroad and shipping workers would handle the crates much more roughly when in a heavy crate, and losses actually increased. The technological solution was to pack enameled bath ware into open crates, which allowed the shipment to be lighter and cheaper, the handlers to use more precautions knowing what merchandise was being shipped, and allowed the customer to inspect the purchase at arrival before opening it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Underhill|first=Dillen|date=June 1910|title=Enameled Cast Iron Sanitary Ware: Arrangement of the enameling room and a description of the cooling ovens -- Method of crating tubs and lavatories|journal=Foundry|publisher=Penton Publishing Co.|volume=36|issue=4|page=181|via=Google Books}}</ref>  Another early documented reference to a shipping crate in the United States is in a 1930 handbook, ''Technical Bulletin No. 171'' written by C. A. Plaskett for the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]. Plaskett was known for his extensive testing and defining of various components of transport packaging.
The USDA Forest Service revised and expanded it in 1964 as the "Wood Crate Design Manual", Handbook 252.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Andeerson
  | first = L O
  | last2 = Heebink
  | first2 = T B
  | title = Wood Crate Design Manual
  | publisher = US Forest Products Laboratory, USDA
  | series = Handbook 252
  | year = 1964
  | url = http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ah252.pdf
  | access-date = 10 June 2015
  | archive-date = 19 March 2015
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150319084840/http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ah252.pdf
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>