Cardboard boxes to replace tubs for Pick a Brick purchases
Posted by Huw,
There's been talk of cardboard boxes replacing tubs for purchasing Pick a Brick in brand stores for some time, and now at last it seems the roll-out is underway.
Promobricks has published information and images taken by BrixxBerlin in the Mall of Berlin store showing the new boxes and their prices.
They come in two sizes which reportedly measure 18.5 x 9.25 x 5.5cm and 9.25 x 9.25 x 5.5cm, and cost €17.99 and €9.99 respectively.
By my reckoning the internal volumes are thus 941 cm³ and 470 cm³ which is 941ml and 470ml, so they have almost the same internal volume as the tubs which are, I believe, 950ml and 475ml.
Of course, the main advantage is that currently it's like fitting square pegs into round holes when filling the cylindrical tubs so with careful stacking you'll be able to get more bricks in with no wasted space between them.
Read on to discover how many 2x4 bricks you'll be able to fit in a large box and whether it's more than in a tub...
If the reported sizes are accurate, the box measurements have not been arrived at accidentally, it seems. The sides are an exact number of studs in size, 23 x 12, and the box 7 studs deep which equates to just under 6 bricks high.
So, let's assume you are willing to stand in the store joining all your 2x4 bricks together into a block that's 22 studs x 12 studs x 5 bricks high, a total volume of 1320 1x1 bricks, you'll be able to fit 165 2x4 bricks in, with a bit of room above and on the sides to stuff a few small pieces in as well.
According to a post on Eurobricks it's possible to fit 142 into a large tub with careful and time-consuming stacking, so the advantage of square containers is plain to see.
Are you looking forward to the change, or do you like the tubs?
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84 comments on this article
Well, I'm not going to say no to this. I've done enough PABs that I've ended up with an unnecessary collection of containers. Some Lego stores take them back for recylcing, but others don't. (I took a stack of ten to one store and they refused them.) So I'm fine with this switch.
I like the tubs and I would assume the majority of those purchased are reused quite a bit before they end up thrown out. The cardboard boxes look kinda flimsy and might have limited reusability. Larger capacity is good so long as the price stays the same. I saw a third size of box to replace the Build-A-Minifigure clamshell, which is good because, for me, those containers go directly in the bin.
Like most here I have way too many PAB cups so it'll be great to have a recyclable alternative.
What`s next, bricks made out of paper/cardboard..? Seriously..
Sounds fine to me. Are those Euro prices the same as the plastic cups? U.S. prices currently are $15.99 and $8.99; I wonder if they're going up?
This is great! I always had issues fitting things in the old round ones.
Sounds good to me!! I am not very partial toward the cups, especially since i part out and store everything my own way in the end.
I like the current PAB cups, as I use them for brick storage.
However, I also like the idea of packing a rectangular box instead of a round cup. This will make packing larger elements far easier!
@560heliport said:
"Sounds fine to me. Are those Euro prices the same as the plastic cups? U.S. prices currently are $15.99 and $8.99; I wonder if they're going up?"
I think they are but not 100% sure which is why I didn't mention current prices.
Amazing. Let’s replace something that has actual value and usability with something that’s weak and useless. Plastic also costs 40% less energy to produce. Progress!
@Huw Your math is a little wrong. The volume of the small PaB box is exactly half of the large one, meaning 470.6 cm^3. Correct the 320 cm^3 ;)
This makes sense to me. The cups aren’t even great for storage after the original use unless you have lots of small parts of one type. Not to mention how easily they tip over. Plus it will be much easier to stack efficiently while picking. All in all good move lego!
@R0Sch said:
" @Huw Your math is a little wrong. The volume of the small PaB box is exactly half of the large one, meaning 470.6 cm^3."
I used 0 decimal places :)
Used to get a discount when you brought your tub back in for refills. Assume that may not be a thing with the box?
@Huw said:
" @R0Sch said:
" @Huw Your math is a little wrong. The volume of the small PaB box is exactly half of the large one, meaning 470.6 cm^3."
I used 0 decimal places :)"
I was referring to the 320 cm^3. ;)
Awesome! Those plastic tubs are awful for packing and storing.
@R0Sch said:
" @Huw said:
" @R0Sch said:
" @Huw Your math is a little wrong. The volume of the small PaB box is exactly half of the large one, meaning 470.6 cm^3."
I used 0 decimal places :)"
I was referring to the 320 cm^3. ;)"
OK -- there's a smaller box used for BaM which has that volume, which I erroneously used for the calcuation initially.
And now you have gone too far, LEGO.
PAB cups are iconic, reusable, useful, and a great addition to anyone's LEGO collection. I use them all the time for storing parts for long-term projects. To see them go will be saddening, frankly.
Thanks for being no fun at all, cardboard.
I'm all for it. Less disposable plastic is always better. Might be nice if they kept the cups on for an extra charge, for people who want to use them for storage, but on the whole this is a huge positive change.
I have never liked tapered cylinders meant for packing mostly square objects. I appreciate this change.
I wonder if stores will still let you refill the old cups.
I think this is good.
Might be able to pack more in there neatly and box it up real nice.
I love the clear cups to see parts easier when building at home BUT, this could hold more.
I'll leave that up to the expert packers to see if we all get more or less from cup to box.
They're going to be a lot easier to fill.
If you have many of the plastic tubs, they're pretty inefficient for storage: not only do you tend to have wasted space inside the tub, you have more wasted space between the tubs. I only use them because I have them. The boxes look much better.
@Chilis_no said:
"What`s next, bricks made out of paper/cardboard..? Seriously.."
"seriously"
"iconic"
I guess there has to be a reason behind being annoyed.
@ODSTtrooper42 said:
"Plastic also costs 40% less energy to produce."
How much less energy does it require to biodegrade?
I never liked the cups. Pieces couldn’t fit well, the lids were unreliable and popped off far too often and usually created a mini catastrophe when they did, but I do wonder what the catch here is. PAB cups were re-usable, and you got a few cents off for bringing back your own. Hopefully this policy will carry over to the boxes
So long as they're durable enough to reuse and have a decent texture, that's fine. But I do prefer the cups from an aesthetic standpoint, they just seem cooler.
It's about time.
Looking at then they kinda remind me of KFC fry boxes, hmm, that gives me an idea. Lego chicken, fries and gravy.
Eh, I liked the cups. I use them for sorting and storage.
I'm all for it. I like going to my local brand store for an impromptu Pick a Brick haul - this is going to mean fewer tubs I don't need lying around. I don't really like them for storage either - rectangular boxes are always going to be easier to stack in a drawer than the tubs
@Chilis_no said:
"What`s next, bricks made out of paper/cardboard..? Seriously.."
How many cups do you need?
Me? I have too many already, and I reuse whenever possible.
Less 'disposable' plastic: big yes from me.
Finally I can buy large panels and plates!
No more trying to fit as many pieces as possible into the stud pocket in the lid...and then get the lid on! I will miss that.
An yes, my takeout from the Lego shop :)
These seems like a welcom3d upgrade, I hope they last as I see if it is possible to go to a LEGO Shop.
@Sandinista said:
"I never liked the cups. Pieces couldn’t fit well, the lids were unreliable and popped off far too often and usually created a mini catastrophe when they did, but I do wonder what the catch here is. PAB cups were re-usable, and you got a few cents off for bringing back your own. Hopefully this policy will carry over to the boxes "
I just bring a few large ziploc bags with me to the Lego store. This saves a bit, no lid to pop off and no cups to pile up at home.
Gonna be a LOT easier to tightly pack those, nice.
it's an understandable change, but i'm going to miss the tubs. they had a lot of character, and have been really useful for storing things outside of their original purpose of getting a bunch of bricks home. aside from the ones i've stepped on and broken, they've never become waste for me. they're lastingly good, maybe other consumers just toss them, like they will with these, but i cant help but feel this is a loss.
anyways, if these are implemented before i have a chance to get more of the tubs next week, im going to be very cross about it.
if you have to many of the pick a brick cylinders just donate them to your local daycare / kindergarten/ elementary school s.
they are super happy to get them for craft s and Storage.
I donate my every 6 months incl some GWP polybags. specifically special needs classes are so grateful for these.
so please donate them for good cause.
Well this is neat, but they should have just used the cup and dumped it into a bag instead (like they typically did for me when asked). A waste of a bag? I guess, but since its going into a bag anyway to take the cardboard box home I guess its a bit of a wash for me. I think this will be a convenient excuse for a price raise, but I think it may have been a while since the last, and with the idea of a 90 degree angle to fit into instead of a circle It will make it easier to get the most out of the box if you want to. Not sure how sturdy they look, but I recall the Gift PaB boxes they used to give out were fairly sturdy, if they are like those then it should be OK (otherwise Ill be taping the bottom as well as the top). All in all, even if the price goes up a bit (Though I would not be surprised if it moved to 20 USD per large box), I think the use of right angles will make it far easier to pack the box.
Great change! Or is this a nasty way to keep the price same (raise the cost of the bricks by replacing cup with box)?
I like this change. As noted, boxes will be easier to put parts into, especially the larger plates that I always actively avoided getting as they would fill the cup too fast.
These are also ‘squishier’… I expect many a bulging box coming home with me!
@ResIpsaLoquitur:
Unless something has changed, it's long been policy that you could get a small discount for bring back cups to refill instead of using new ones. Yes, it means having to haul large quantities of them to every store you visit, if the goal is to reduce the number of cups you accumulate, but it sounds like you've been hauling them back regardless.
@CDM:
One problem with switching those to boxes is if they ever produce store-exclusive 3-packs like they've done for Grand Openings. The appeal in those cases was that you could leave the pack unopened while still being able to view the physical minifigs. Best option with a cardboard box would be for them to custom print the boxes with pictures of the contents.
@Vickinator:
Yup, that's always been a possibility, too. I've seen people ask for spare shopping bags to dump the contents into, and just put the cups back. What I don't know is if you qualify for the discount for reusing cups if you never take the cups with you.
@LefterisPrime:
What I heard through my LUG is that this is being trialed in one LEGO Store for now. It may be rolled out worldwide, or they may determine that it's not the right move and stick with the cups for now. One major issue is that these need to be assembled, so it may hinge on the general public being able to figure out how to fold the boxes into shape, vs having to task an employee with box duty for the entire day.
@Ridgeheart:
Straws are a functionally different situation. I had to stop going to one chain of movie theaters because they switched to paper straws. You'd get a fistful of them when you ordered a drink, and they still wouldn't last the whole movie (if you get a frozen drink, the straws get clogged pretty quickly if you're not constantly drinking through them). What they don't give you is a tiny trash can to put them in each time you have to switch to a new one.
When I weighed the current cups, I came up with volumes of
large 963 ml (32.6 fl oz)
small 487 ml (16.5 fl oz)
stud 32 ml (1.1 fl oz)
lid (including stud) 135 ml (4.6 fl oz)
So the new large box is 86% the size of the large cup, if you are permitted to stack such that the bottom of the lid is level with the rim.
With the lid snapped on, it's 95% of the size.
It is definitely possible that having rectangular boxes will make up for the nominal loss of space. As I recall, the old free Christmas boxes used to pack much more densely than I could get the cups.
The current plastic cups offer a discount when refilling, so they've been zero-waste for me. If the boxes can't be refilled at discount, this move will actually increase the waste I generate.
Current US refill prices for cups packed with bottom of the lid level with the rim are
large = 41.8¢/oz
small = 41.6¢/oz
The small cups offer an advantage packing smaller bricks, because the sides are less inclined. I always buy small instead of large because of this.
I approve of this change. PaB cups are conical, so the worst shape for maximizing your brick count, especially larger parts. I haven't gotten PaB in years though, so it likely won't make much of a difference for me.
Mind you, the cups can be nice. I've been using one as a water bottle for work. It's been serving me well for a few months now.
I have at least 50 of the cups. They're moderately useful for sorting and storage.
Every time I go to the store, I bring 3-5 cups with me, 1-2 BAM blisters, and a large Lego bag.
I love collecting Lego. I hate wasteful packaging. Anything that stops that is great.
I wonder how much the walls can flex. Having just a small margin of elasticity is so much better than having all the wasted space in cups.
Would they let you mash platestogether?
See what I did there? :D
@ODSTtrooper42 said:
"Amazing. Let’s replace something that has actual value and usability with something that’s weak and useless. Plastic also costs 40% less energy to produce. Progress!"
Don't want to interrupt your reach here, but a few notes:
1. The paper boxes can be flat packed and are lighter, saving on transport cost (and fuel burn, and emissions)
2. LEGO uses some percentage recycled paper, and uses paper from well managed forests (you can find this on LEGO's site)
3. Plastic does NOT uniformly cost 40% less energy. This is a cherry-picked statistic from an often misinterpreted comparison of thin plastic grocery bags to paper bags: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47027792
4. Paper isn't filling guts of marine mammals
You may find the pick a brick cups usable. Many use them simply to contain their purchase, and cylinders don't exactly lend themselves to efficient storage of LEGO bricks. I am sure you'll be able to find a plastic cup somewhere to meet your need.
The old cups are really cool in their reusability but the boxes make so much more sense in terms of actually containing Lego pieces. Easier to fill to maximum, less time spent trying to pack everything down perfectly. I want to pick up some of the large cups before they're fully phased out, but otherwise this is a sensible change in both practicality and recycling.
@AllenSmith:
My LEGO Store (2x4 red brick that fills two baseplates) has exterior walls that were entirely made of 1x2's that I packed into two of the Christmas PaB boxes. They were square, but with an odd number of studs, so I had to pick a 1x1 element to stack and feed into the hole in the center.
@ElephantKnight:
When I first met him at House of Bricks 2, one of the founders of Brickworld had a large PaB cup with a hole cut through the stud, and he was using it to serve drinks. He was drinking out of a small PaB cup.
@verycaroline:
Paper production is one of the largest consumers of acid, and is not even close to being a "green" process.
If they implement this change the way they are with the Paper bags replacing the plastic ones in the sets it will probably be at least 3 years before we start see these in most Lego stores.
I don't live near enough to any LEGO stores to use Pick a Brick reliably, but its going to be so much easier to do bulk buys with these.
I hope that they still offer the plastic tubs as little $1 or so purchasable for storage. I've got a pair of them that I absolutely adore and kind of wish I had more. Maybe they've changed since I got mine, but being able to stack them on top of each other like actual studs was always a delight!
Excellent! Only about a decade or two too late. Not bad at all for your average large corporation.
I stopped buying from the Pick-a-brick wall ages ago because it was always so annoying trying to pack mostly square parts into a round cylinder with angled sides, and the tippy containers with unsecure lids are equally annoying to deal with for at-home part storage as well.
This'll be such a nice quality of life boost to the Pick-a-brick experience, I might actually start going to my local Lego store in-person again!
@Ridgeheart:
This again? The plant parts are not a "biodegradable form of ABS". They're made from polyethylene, not ABS, and they're not biodegradable. Their polyethylene is from renewable sources like sugarcane instead of petroleum.
I don't mind the change too much as long as prices don't jump. I'll miss the old plastic cups because of their charm, but I would only need so many of them before they become unnecessary. Hopefully the cardboard boxes are durable enough to handle rough packaging. They also will likely be easier when packing large square/rectangular elements. All in all, this is a change that I am fine with. The CMFs are a different matter, but I'll leave that alone.
Huh, this will be interesting. A square box is much more attractive in terms of stuffing it with bricks, but I'm curious about how strong the box will be.
I quite like the tubs/cans and use them to store set extras (until I sort them out) or certain bulk parts. I've got about a dozen of them by now, and I always bring them with me when I go to the store to grab that 75c discount. @Huw Will Brickset ever add these tubs to the database, so we can record how many we have?
@Chilis_no said:
"What`s next, bricks made out of paper/cardboard..? Seriously.."
Obviously you confuse product with packaging.
@oceanone said:
"if you have to many of the pick a brick cylinders just donate them to your local daycare / kindergarten/ elementary school s.
they are super happy to get them for craft s and Storage.
I donate my every 6 months incl some GWP polybags. specifically special needs classes are so grateful for these.
so please donate them for good cause.
"
What a fantastic idea and thoughtful...thanks!!!
@melkor23 said:
" @Chilis_no said:
"What`s next, bricks made out of paper/cardboard..? Seriously.."
Obviously you confuse product with packaging."
they're probably upset with the plants made from plants pieces as well
I always find a company that sells plastic bricks to be worried about the use of plastics to be strange, but it's corporate virtue signalling that is required in this day and age.
I am shocked at how few people reuse their cups, I use them for all the spare pieces from sets (usually 1x1 tiles etc).
But cylindrical cups are a pain for maximising PAB and the boxes should allow for more pieces to be put in them.
So fairly neutral over this. There are pros and cons.
This is good, I guess, but we haven't seen paper bags instead of the usual plastic ones, which arguably is a waaay bigger problem and should've been done 10 years ago already!
@Ridgeheart said:
"THIS IS THE LAST STRAW, LEGO
Sorry, let me rephrase that: this is a lot like how last time, we replaced plastic straws with cardboard ones, in that it's going to upset a lot of people, and I'm completely fine with it. Go for it, do the 'last straw'-thing. Honestly, we need more 'last straws' as far as I'm concerned."
Have you USED a cardboard straw? They’re terrible. I understand the environmental concerns but from a practicality standpoint they’re a step backwards
@PjtorXmos said:
"This is good, I guess, but we haven't seen paper bags instead of the usual plastic ones, which arguably is a waaay bigger problem and should've been done 10 years ago already!"
Here, in my part of the U.S. (Mountain West) they transfered from plastic bags to paper about 2 years ago.
@Sandinista said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"THIS IS THE LAST STRAW, LEGO
Sorry, let me rephrase that: this is a lot like how last time, we replaced plastic straws with cardboard ones, in that it's going to upset a lot of people, and I'm completely fine with it. Go for it, do the 'last straw'-thing. Honestly, we need more 'last straws' as far as I'm concerned."
Have you USED a cardboard straw? They’re terrible. I understand the environmental concerns but from a practicality standpoint they’re a step backwards"
Drink faster. ;)
@Vickinator said:
" @Sandinista said:
"I never liked the cups. Pieces couldn’t fit well, the lids were unreliable and popped off far too often and usually created a mini catastrophe when they did, but I do wonder what the catch here is. PAB cups were re-usable, and you got a few cents off for bringing back your own. Hopefully this policy will carry over to the boxes "
I just bring a few large ziploc bags with me to the Lego store. This saves a bit, no lid to pop off and no cups to pile up at home."
I'm curious. How does this work? They price PAB according to the size of the cups. Do you fit your ziploc bags inside the cup, or something else I'm missing?
I'm quite excited for this change. The overall volume is largely unchanged, but this seems like it will make fitting bricks easier - not sure why there is so much backlash to these boxes, as I can only see merits in this new system.
I do hope though, that the discount will be brought across to these boxes when you reuse them. I will hopefully be doing a few more PAB purchases so I can stock up on those cups before they become a relic of the past.
Have we jumped the shark when our straw man arguments are actually about straws?
Meh. I would have rather seen LEGO increase the incentive for reusing the existing cups, or make it standard practice to dump each filled cup into a paper bag at the checkout.
Parts smaller than a 2x4 brick will still be absurdly time-consuming to pack efficiently, the fraction of LEGO elements which are actually rectangular is quite small, and when it comes to MOC building, rectangular elements are the least interesting or useful parts.
I don't see how you can be against this.
The cups are clumsy, inconvenient and impractical for storage.
Instead TLG creating a new type of packaging, tooling, and waste, I would have been more impressed if they just switched to having customers pack PAB in BYGGLEK boxes, either sold there in the store or reused boxes bought from home. Then the container is useful for storage OR in-system building. And encourage a dump-in-bag discount for customers who don't need/want any more containers.
I've also found that IKEA's boxes are useful for re-packing sets when LEGO's cardboard packaging is destroyed by being delivered on a rainy day.
@melkor23:
5956!!!!!!!
@StyleCounselor said:
"Drink faster. ;)"
Sure. Explain that to all those people who have physical handicaps that make it impossible for them to drink without using a straw. Even with an assistant helping them, meals can be a long and tediously frustrating affair. One paper straw would probably deconstitute into bits of paper pulp by the time they finish. Metal straws aren’t a safe option, because people have actually been injured on them if they lose balance when the straw is in their mouth (I can’t recall if there have been any recorded deaths yet, but it certainly seems possible if the straw gets shoved through your soft palate).
@Torrent_Studios:
Fill the cup. Present it at the register. Pay for it. Dump the contents into a bag and put the cup back for the next person.
@BrickTeller:
On the plus side, you shouldn’t need to pull out instructions telling you how to build the block so it’ll fill the box. I’ve seen how 2x4’s have to be built to maximize capacity in PaB cups, and it just doesn’t seem worth it. Certainly not if they’ll let you just buy a case for equivalency in cups. That seems like something that only seems worth doing for the bragging rights if you manage to set a new record.
i do keep the old ones around, but they aren’t very convenient for holding legos because of their odd shape. i prefer to store most of mine in tackle boxes and tubs. so i won’t be missing them that much
This is so much better than the plastic cups. I would have them dump my cup into a paper bag after filling it so I didn't have to take home a useless plastic cup.
Isn't it cheaper (and more comfortable) to buy bulk bricks via Shop at Home (or Bricklink)?
Why the hassle of going to a LEGO store and fiddling with those cups on a very limited selection of available pieces?
I've never understood that fascination and have so far not once bought stuff via PaB.
@AustinPowers said:
"Isn't it cheaper (and more comfortable) to buy bulk bricks via Shop at Home (or Bricklink)?
Why the hassle of going to a LEGO store and fiddling with those cups on a very limited selection of available pieces?
I've never understood that fascination and have so far not once bought stuff via PaB. "
Cheaper? No. I once calculated what the parts I bought for $15.99 in a large PAB cup would have cost from Bricks and Pieces. It was about $78.
@560heliport said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Isn't it cheaper (and more comfortable) to buy bulk bricks via Shop at Home (or Bricklink)?
Why the hassle of going to a LEGO store and fiddling with those cups on a very limited selection of available pieces?
I've never understood that fascination and have so far not once bought stuff via PaB. "
Cheaper? No. I once calculated what the parts I bought for $15.99 in a large PAB cup would have cost from Bricks and Pieces. It was about $78."
You must have been lucky then. Every time I have been to a LEGO store, the PaB wall contained only very odd pieces I never needed, plus in colours that were far from useful for my tastes (lime, orange, purple, azure,etc.)
If it ever contained basic stuff like bricks or plates in useful colours like black, white, grey, tan, brown, green, etc. I might have been tempted, but even then I can only compare to my purchases from Bricks&Pieces or Bricklink, where I never paid anything close to 16 Euros for less than 150 pieces. Just for comparison, my last order on Bricklink contained about 1,600 new pieces (mostly plates, bricks and slopes) for about 31 Euros delivered. And that's a typical purchase.
It's weird how reactionary the LEGO community can be. I don't feel compelled to agree with every decision TLG makes and have been quite critical on certain recent choices, but come on, this is definitely one of their more consumer-friendly decisions of late, especially if you're prone to get larger parts off the PAB wall. Heck, this may even enable certain larger parts to *reach* the PAB wall.
If you need more permanent containers, you can acquire far more sensible ones than a bunch of PAB wall cups for eminently reasonable prices elsewhere.
@AustinPowers said:
" @560heliport said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Isn't it cheaper (and more comfortable) to buy bulk bricks via Shop at Home (or Bricklink)?
Why the hassle of going to a LEGO store and fiddling with those cups on a very limited selection of available pieces?
I've never understood that fascination and have so far not once bought stuff via PaB. "
Cheaper? No. I once calculated what the parts I bought for $15.99 in a large PAB cup would have cost from Bricks and Pieces. It was about $78."
You must have been lucky then. Every time I have been to a LEGO store, the PaB wall contained only very odd pieces I never needed, plus in colours that were far from useful for my tastes (lime, orange, purple, azure,etc.)
If it ever contained basic stuff like bricks or plates in useful colours like black, white, grey, tan, brown, green, etc. I might have been tempted, but even then I can only compare to my purchases from Bricks&Pieces or Bricklink, where I never paid anything close to 16 Euros for less than 150 pieces. Just for comparison, my last order on Bricklink contained about 1,600 new pieces (mostly plates, bricks and slopes) for about 31 Euros delivered. And that's a typical purchase. "
I just have a much wider definition of "useful". And I don't buy a cup unless there's enough parts I want.
It also helps that I live 13 miles/22 km from the store- so I'm there several times a month.
Plastic cups retired will be adding mine to ebay soon.
I have never in my life heard anyone call the Pick-A-Brick cups "tubs" until I read this article. The LEGO stores call them "cups." A plastic container that has a height over twice the width or diameter wouldn't really be a tub. Is there a reason people suddenly switched to calling them tubs?