Uses for old newspapers boxes

As a follow-up to the earlier post with the picture of the newspaper box graveyard, J blog 10,000 Words today posted Six Creative Uses for Old Newspaper Boxes:

Grill

If you think this photo of a news box turned into a grill is ‘shopped you’re wrong. Custom grill maker Steve Barker’s handiwork is highlighted in an issue of Make magazine and the creative cooker even comes with a propane tank attached to the back. If you need something a little more low tech, take a cue from this hollowed out video drop box-turned-oven spotted in Liberia.

Digital Newsstand

Scott Walker was on to something when he rigged an old newspaper box to deliver headlines digitally. The Alabama editor outfitted the box with a 17-inch monitor and rigged it to display headlines from The Birmingham News. Pretty cool huh?

Playpen/Crib

A few more over at their site, and I’ll add one of my own: When I was in school in DC, some friends were out one night cavorting under the influence (like you do) when they decided the abandoned Washington Times newspaper box on the street would make a great beer cooler in their apartment. They took it to their dorm room and used it for a while until the RA discovered it and got them in trouble for both underage possession and having stolen property.
If only they had waited a few more years, they might have been doing the city a public service. Like over in Seattle, where the Seattle Times is trying to figure out what to do with the 3,000 now defunct metal boxes left when the P-I stopped publishing March 17. The first comment, as is often the case, is the best:

Posted by ChannelZ at 3/27/09 10:41 a.m.

How about if you create print edition of the web site?

Then you could put them in the boxes and people could even put some money in to get the paper. I understand they are already equipped to do that.

Revolutionary!

I have had this weird lingering trepidation about approaching newspaper boxes ever since one day in summer 2003 when I was walking to the J school building and stopped near Tawes Hall on Maryland’s campus to get my daily Washington Post, as was my daily routine. When I opened the box, a small swarm of bees came out, one that stung me fast and quick on the hand. I cursed and dropped the door handle, sending it springing back shut, robbing me of my daily news and forcing me to actually pay attention in class instead of reading articles and doing the crossword puzzle on my lap. Someone had decided to use it as an apiary, I guess? I don’t think I ever used that box again, and I still approach nervously when using others today.

Then, one time, I was reading The Huffington Post, and a viscious cobra leapt out of Alec Baldwin’s mouth and bit my mouse hand repeatedly before I I could bludgeon it back with a nearby Polaroid camera. The lesson here is: being informed is 100 percent dangerous and you should never try to do it.