Boxes are amazing useful items. They are sturdy, they house all sorts of things and usually come in one or two parts. Nearly all boxes have six sides, one of which either opens or removes entirely in order to put things in the box. If none of the sides open, then it is very likely that you have a brick or block, rather than a true box.

Cardboard Boxes

The most popular kind of box, cardboard boxes come in all shapes and sizes. They are usually made of one sheet of cardboard, cunningly folded to make a box shape with flaps at the top to serve as a lid. The more upmarket type of cardboard box may have a separate lid, but you can be assured that it didn't ever contain anything interesting.

Cardboard boxes are a favourite childhood memory for all but the most affluent of us - they can serve as boats, cars, spaceships and amazing magical machines that do anything you like. Any discerning child will tell you that the best boxes are television size - not only can children fit into them comfortably, but many of them carry the added bonus of housing those amazing pieces of polystyrene foam that make such a mess.

Trinket Boxes

These are very small ceramic boxes which are designed for earrings and the like. They are mentioned not because of their usefullness, but their amazing abundance. They are, apparently, one of those foolproof presents for young ladies. They usually come in two parts - a small body of the box, with a decorated lid that is often heavier than the box itself. These boxes tend to depict animals, flowers or lovers - in a suitably chaste way, of course. Their masculine counterparts, snuff boxes, have long since fallen out of use, but the trinket box remains, and will do so as long as people have distant female relatives.

Wooden Boxes

In normal conversation, a wooden box is not merely a box made from wood, and assuming so can cause some awkward situations. A wooden box is a coffin. These depart from the normal six sided