As an engineer, I can appreciate the function and origin of the plastic "T-shirt" bag that took grocery stores by force in the 1960s. In 1965, Gustaf Thulin Sten revolutionized the way consumers carried home their groceries by creating a sturdy plastic bag with handles instead of the handle-less paper bags previously used by shoppers. This simple yet effective design is still being used more than 50 years later has undoubtedly maintained its hold due to its relatively inexpensive manufacturing costs and convenience to the stores and consumers.