Why do the banks put the envelopes in horizontally?

Question

Our hands don't go horizontally, they go at an angle. I am tired of trying to dig the envelopes out. It HURTS my hands. I have carpel tunnel syndrome. When are they going to put the envelopes in ergonomically? What about us poor disabled people?

Answer 1

There is nothing wrong with envelopes. Things are at right angles because that is the most efficient way to make envelopes that actually fit things without having to fold in odd ways. The ergonomics of stuffing envelopes (and the mechanics of designing machines to do it) would be FAR worse if they were any other shape. And it is far more of a hassle to stuff them than to unstuff them.

You are just opening them in some uncomfortable manner. There is nothing stopping you from ripping the envelope apart at whatever angle feels best to you. There is no prescribed method which requires that the envelope be held at an uncomfortable angle.

Get a letter opener, and stop bitching. This is a problem of your own making.