What happened to those nifty little metal pill boxes?

They used to stock aspirin or other over-the-counter pills in them in smaller quantities and you could find them in convenience stores everywhere. Now all you find are those worthless tear-away plastic containers.

The precision of metal working that went into the manufacturing of these little metal pill boxes is remarkable - imagine trying to make one at home in your hobby shop? The hinges were tiny but fit perfectly and were rugged enough to hold up for years - I never actually had one break at the hinges on me.

The little indentions on the top and bottom matched and the fit was such that they snapped into place when you close the lid and remained securely shut until you squeezed either of the front edges between your thumb and index finger - then it would pop open with ease.

I know they were around for at least 50 years, and I used them for a variety of purposes (after using up all the aspirins inside), but, I lost my last one recently and now I can't find them ANYWHERE.

Has anyone seen these lately? Where?

America used to produce a lot of nifty, inexpensive things that are no longer to be found - an era ended sometime recently and I suppose future historians will write papers about it. The case of the disappearing little metal pill box is just an example. If you see one please report your sighting.