Ice cube trays where orientation matters.

Princess Alice

Some ice cube trays, especially the cheaper ones you find at stores like Dollar General, are designed so that if you place them all the same orientation, they nest, and if you place them in alternating orientations, they stack.

What's the point? I guess the nesting might be nice for storage, but if you're like most people I know, your ice cube trays rarely come out of the freezer...and it's annoying to have to pay attention to which way around you're placing them when you've just refilled them.

Tachyon

the bun trays we have at work are designed a similar way and it's so annoying, because people keep putting them down the wrong way around and squashing entire trays of buns

Tatterhood

I happen to have bought some ice cube trays today, so this made me go check if they do this. (They don't.)

Salix Babylonika

not gonna lie, I don't think I've ever thought this much about ice cube trays

Princess Alice

Jane said:

not gonna lie, I don't think I've ever thought this much about ice cube trays

I was filling the ice cube trays and I started to put one in the wrong way and got annoyed. That's the only reason I was thinking about it.

Salix Babylonika

I'm thinking and just now realized that I don't think I've actually used ice cubes for anything in years. Ain't that kind of a rich person thing? Having your own ice cubes at home?

Not that the trays themselves cost much, but, I dunno.

Princess Alice

I like to make iced coffee at home. I guess I can see why that might sound like a rich person thing, but in practice it's literally just pouring coffee over ice.

Obā-san

it costs exactly as much as tap water with the one-time 2.49 investment for an ice cube tray

granted, if your freezer makes unsealed things taste funny, or is too full of vaping supplies for u to get the trays in, that would be an issue

Tachyon

i don't usually bother just cuz like, when i want ice cubes i don't have any ready and i might not want them 6 hours later, y'know?  plus it just seldom gets that hot over here

Imipolex G

My parents always had ice cubes when I was a lil calf

I don't feel any need for them now, though

Imipolex G

also I thought this might be about the ice cube tray's sexual orientation

Princess Alice

Tachyon said:

i don't usually bother just cuz like, when i want ice cubes i don't have any ready and i might not want them 6 hours later, y'know?  plus it just seldom gets that hot over here

What I did when I lived with my parents was fill the ice cube trays, wait for them to freeze, then dump the ice into a bucket and refill the trays. That way I always had a little bit of ice on reserve and didn't have to worry about depleting the trays right away.

Of course, that assumes you have space for a bucket of ice, but my parents had an entire second freezer.

Princess Alice

Imipolex G said:

also I thought this might be about the ice cube tray's sexual orientation

I figured somebody would say that; I'm surprised it took as long as it did.

Tachyon

Central Avenue said:

Tachyon said:

i don't usually bother just cuz like, when i want ice cubes i don't have any ready and i might not want them 6 hours later, y'know?  plus it just seldom gets that hot over here

What I did when I lived with my parents was fill the ice cube trays, wait for them to freeze, then dump the ice into a bucket and refill the trays. That way I always had a little bit of ice on reserve and didn't have to worry about depleting the trays right away.

Of course, that assumes you have space for a bucket of ice, but my parents had an entire second freezer.

yeah no we never have enough freezer space for all the junk we keep in there, it's always packed

Tatterhood

I mostly just use em when I buy soft drinks and want to drink em right away rather than leave them in the fridge for hours.

Fossilmaiden

We've always got a bag of ice on the top shelf of our freezer, but I guess it's different if you have a chest freezer.

glennmagusharvey

Central Avenue said:

What's the point? I guess the nesting might be nice for storage, but if you're like most people I know, your ice cube trays rarely come out of the freezer...and it's annoying to have to pay attention to which way around you're placing them when you've just refilled them.

Probably useful for storage if you have a small freezer or don't use ice cubes very often.

Fossilmaiden said:

chest freezer.

hey imipolex, what is your opinion of frozen milk

Imipolex G

not as good as unfrozen milk

Tatterhood

glennmagusharvey said:

Central Avenue said:

What's the point? I guess the nesting might be nice for storage, but if you're like most people I know, your ice cube trays rarely come out of the freezer...and it's annoying to have to pay attention to which way around you're placing them when you've just refilled them.

Probably useful for storage if you have a small freezer or don't use ice cubes very often.

if you don't use ice cubes often why do you have so many ice cube trays

glennmagusharvey

Tatterhood said:

glennmagusharvey said:

Central Avenue said:

What's the point? I guess the nesting might be nice for storage, but if you're like most people I know, your ice cube trays rarely come out of the freezer...and it's annoying to have to pay attention to which way around you're placing them when you've just refilled them.

Probably useful for storage if you have a small freezer or don't use ice cubes very often.

if you don't use ice cubes often why do you have so many ice cube trays

well you might need to make them in a large batch to entertain guests

vtk

I've never heard of this ice cube tray design feature. Then again, it's possible our ice cube trays were made before that stack/nest trick was invented.

glennmagusharvey

vtk said:

I've never heard of this ice cube tray design feature.

This.  Mine always just stacked the same way with or without water.

eriophora zia

Nested trays can be shipped in smaller packages, making them more economical on the company side.