Tupperware days

In 1970s Cambridge, grain salads and hummus abounded. I carried my lunch in a gray plastic Thermos lunchpail big enough to corral my daily array of tiny orange Tupperwares. Even today, a sandwich is my lunch of last resort.

So strong is my identification with Tupperware that I even made it into a verb: To Tupp, i.e. “Let me Tupp the leftovers.” (And yes, I do know this is slang for something else in Britain.)

While a few of those one-serving Tupperware cups are still floating around my family’s cupboards, I may not be able to Tupp much longer: Tupperware Brands filed for bankruptcy protection in September, “succumbing to mounting losses due to poor demand for its once popular colorful food storage containers,” according to Reuters.