What inventions came about because of the can opener?
The can opener entered the modern age in 1925, when the Star Can Opener Company of San Francisco improved on Lyman’s wheel blade by adding a second, serrated wheel, called a “feed wheel” or “turning gear,” to ride below the rim of the can. By squeezing the rim between the two wheels, the Star maintained a firm and steady grip on the can.
Can openers invented 48 years after cans?
With a hammer and chisel. The can opener (1858) was patented 48 years after the tin can (1810). For most of that time, cans were way too thick to be opened any other way. - Canning food was first invented in 1810 by a French chef named Nicolas Appert. Doing so he claimed a 12,000 franc award from the French military that had
Who invented the can opener and when?
The can opener was invented in 1858 by American Ezra Warnet. There also is a claim that Englishman Robert Yeates invented the can opener in 1855. But the can opener did not become popular until, ten years later, it was given away for free with canned beef. (Canned pet food was introduced by James Spratt in 1865.)
How were cans opened before invention of can opener?
Cans were opened with a hammer and chisel before the advent of can openers. The tin canister, or can, was invented in 1810 by a Londoner, Peter Durand. The year before, French confectioner, Nicolas Appert, had introduced the method of canning food (as it became known) by sealing the food tightly inside a glass bottle or jar and then heating it.
Who invented the first electric can opener?
On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented the first US can opener.
Who invented the handheld can opener?
The first can opener was actually an American invention, patented by Ezra J. Warner on January 5, 1858. At this time, writes Connecticut History, “iron cans were just starting to be replaced by thinner steel cans.”
Where was the electric can opener invented?
Six short years after the Star model came to market, the first electric can opener was invented. It was patented in 1931 by the Bunker Clancey Company of Kansas City, who had already been sued by the Star Can Opener Company for trying sell a double-wheeled can opener like the Star model (the case was dismissed).
When did they invent the can opener?
However, it wasn't until 1931 when the tooth-wheeled crank design that we use today was patented by a Charles Arthur Bunker, whose design remains as the standard for can-openers to this very day! It was a long old process to get there, wasn't it?
When did William Lyman invent the can opener?
William Worcester Lyman (March 29, 1821 – November 15, 1891) was an American inventor from Meriden, Connecticut. He is credited with inventing the first rotating wheel can opener....William Lyman (inventor)William Worcester LymanDiedNovember 15, 1891 (aged 70)Known forThe first rotary can openerScientific careerFieldsInventor3 more rows
Who invented the can?
Peter DurandSteel and tin cans / InventorPeter Durand was an English merchant who is widely credited with receiving the first patent for the idea of preserving food using tin cans. The patent was granted on August 25, 1810, by King George III of the United Kingdom. Wikipedia
Who invented the smooth edge can opener?
Not until 1870—fully 60 years after the invention of canned food—did another Connecticut inventor, William Lyman, develop what today we might recognize as a can opener.
How did people open cans before can opener?
People used hammers and chisels to open up tin cans until the can opener was invented. Apparently, the almighty can opener was invented 48 long years after tin cans. Peter Durand, the successful British merchant, didn't think this through when King George III granted him the patent for food-preserving tin cans.
When was the first electric can opener sold?
An electric version of the same type of can opener was first sold in December of 1931 .
When was the first tin can opener invented?
The first tin cans were so thick they had to be hammered open. As cans became thinner, it became possible to invent dedicated can openers. In 1858, Ezra Warner of Waterbury, Connecticut patented the first can opener. The U.S. military used it during the Civil War. In 1866, J. Osterhoudt patented the tin can with a key opener that you can find on sardine cans.
Who invented the tin can?
British merchant Peter Durand made an impact on food preservation with his 1810 patenting of the tin can. In 1813, John Hall and Bryan Dorkin opened the first commercial canning factory in England.
When was the aerosol spray can invented?
Aerosol Spray Cans. The concept of the aerosol spray can originated as early as 1790 when self-pressurized carbonated beverages were introduced in France. Cite this Article. Format. mla apa chicago.
Who invented the can opener?
Not until 1870—fully 60 years after the invention of canned food—did another Connecticut inventor, William Lyman, develop what today we might recognize as a can opener.
When did electric can openers start?
Electric can openers also debuted in 1931, marketed as capable of safely opening 20 cans a minute. But they were slow to catch on until 1956, when two California firms reintroduced the concept. Klassen Enterprises had only limited success with a wall-mounted electric opener.
What was Durand's inspiration for the invention of the can?
First, of course, came the can. Durand’s inspiration was to fill a tin can with food, partly cap it, and then immerse it in boiling water ; his patent didn’t specify how long. Once sealed, the contents would remain palatable indefinitely.
What colors were the freestanding kitchen openers?
The freestanding opener, which also incorporated a knife sharpener, was sold in Flamingo Pink, Avocado Green and Aqua Blue and soon was a mainstay in the similarly hued kitchens of the 1950s and early 1960s.
What was Lyman's most famous invention?
Lyman’s most notable invention was the rotating-wheel can opener. Like today’s openers, it used a sharp, rotating cutting wheel that circled around the can’s ring, slicing off the lid.
When did the Star Can Opener come out?
In 1925 , the Star Can Opener Co. in San Francisco added a second, serrated “feed wheel” that gave a firmer grasp of the can’s edge as the cutting wheel circled the rim. This is the same basic design used in handheld can openers today.
Who invented canned food?
By David A. Fryxell Premium. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the first commercial production of canned food. Our ancestors who were hungry to sample the contents of those cans, however, had to wait almost half a century for a convenient way to open them. Peter Durand, the British merchant who first patented the idea ...
Cans
A can is an airtight container commonly known as a steel or tin can that you can use to distribute or store goods. It is usually made of thin metal. Wide varieties of food and other goods can be stored in cans.
Can Openers
Even though commercial cans have been in use since the beginning of the 19 th century, can openers took nearly 50 years before they came into reality. The reasons and the general knowledge regarding can openers are described in the following section-
Conclusion
Cans were indeed a revolutionary invention of their time. A lot of food and goods would be wasted due to the lack of preservation methods.
What was the first can opener?
The first ‘can opener’ was a hammer and chisel. The first can opener was a blade that sawed around the can's edge, leaving a jagged rim. ( U.S. Pat. No. 19063)
Who invented the rotary cutter?
William Lyman’ s patent was the first to use a rotary cutter to cut around the can, although in other aspects it doesn’t look like the modern one. “The classic toothed-wheel crank design” that we know and use today came around in the 1920s, writes Rogers.
Who was the first to offer a prize for preserving food?
Our story starts in 1795, when Napoleon Bonaparte offered a significant prize “for anyone who invented a preservation method that would allow his army’s food to remain unspoiled during its long journey to the troops’ stomachs,” writes Today I Found Out.
Who invented the electric can opener?
In the 1950s, Walter Hess Bodle and his daughter, Elizabeth Bodle, developed an electric can opener in the family garage. Walter came up with the opener's blades and motor, and Elizabeth sculpted the outside. Their can opener was a free-standing unit that could sit on the kitchen counter.
What was the first can opener?
The bully beef. The first standalone can opener worked on a simple principle: point, stab, and pull. From the mid-19th century to the end of World War I, the typical can opener looked roughly like a wrench, if the lower “jaw” of the wrench were replaced with a blade.
Why are bully beef can openers called bully beef can openers?
Because meat was the first and most popular canned substance, these can openers were often shaped to look like cows and given the nickname "bully beef can openers.". The bully beef can opener, popular in the mid-19th century, resulted in many lost fingers. Musei del Cibo.
How long has the can opener been around?
One of the oddest things about the can opener is that the can predates it by almost 150 years. Though common today, cans were once military-grade technology. In 1795, Napoleon, to whom the phrase "an army marches on its stomach" is attributed, offered 12,000 francs to anyone who could find a way to preserve food. Without any knowledge of bacteria or their role in food spoilage, scientists didn't even know where to begin. It took 15 years before a chef named Nicholas Appert claimed the prize after successfully jarring food. Soon after that, his countryman Philippe de Girard came up with a variant on Appert's method—metal tins—and sold the idea to the British.
Why was canning so expensive?
The canning process, with its hours of boiling and steaming, its scrupulous cleanliness, its heated metal, and its need for a great deal of disposable material, made canned food far too expensive for anyone but the military. No can openers were needed or even possible.
What were the first things that were packaged in cylinders?
Coffee, beans, and other types of meat were packaged in cylinders with metal strips that could be peeled back with their own kinds of built-in keys. Cans of milk, which didn't need to be completely opened, came with puncture devices. As tinned food became more common, its containers became more regular.
How long did it take to invent the can opener?
Don’t lose a finger: The 200-year evolution of the can opener. It took 15 years to invent the can. It took 100 more to invent a standard way to open it. Enlarge / In the 19th century, decades after the invention of canning, there were virtually no can openers.
Overview
A can opener (in North American English and Australian English) or tin opener (used in British English) is a mechanical device used to open tin cans (metal cans). Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at least 1772 in the Netherlands, the first can openers were not patented until 1855 in England and 1858 in the United States. These early openers were basically v…
Invention of cans
Food preserved in tin cans was in use by the Dutch Navy from at least 1772. Before 1800, there was already a small industry of canned salmon in the Netherlands. Freshly caught salmon were cleaned, boiled in brine, smoked and placed in tin-plated iron boxes. This canned salmon was known outside the Netherlands, and in 1797 a British company supplied one of their clients with 1…
Twist-key can-opener
During the 1800s, the canning process was mechanised and refined, with can walls becoming thinner. The twist-key can-opener was patented by J. Osterhoudt in 1866. There still was no general-purpose can-opener, thus each can came with a spot-welded or soldered-on twist-key can-opener which snapped off after fatiguing the metal by bending at a thin region. Each food-ty…
Lever-type can openers
General-purpose can openers first appeared in the 1850s and had a primitive claw-shaped or "lever-type" design. In 1855, Robert Yeates, a cutlery and surgical instrument maker of Trafalgar Place West, Hackney Road, Middlesex, UK, devised the first claw-ended can opener with a hand-operated tool that haggled its way around the top of metal cans.
Rotating wheel can openers
The first rotating wheel can opener was patented in July 1870 by William Lyman of Meriden, Connecticut, US and produced by the firm Baumgarten in the 1890s. The can was to be pierced in its centre with the sharp metal rod of the opener. Then, the length of the lever had to be adjusted to fit the can size, and the lever fixed with the wingnut. The top of the can was cut by pressing the cutting wheel into the can near the edge and rotating it along the can's rim.
Church key
Church key initially referred to a simple hand-operated device for prying the cap (called a "crown cork" or "bottle cap") off a glass bottle; this kind of closure was invented in 1892. The first of these church key style openers was patented in Canada in 1900.
The shape and design of some of these early "church key" opener's fulcrum hol…
Military use can openers
Several can openers with a simple and robust design have been specifically developed for military use. The P-38 and P-51 are small can openers with a cutter hinged to the main body. They were also known as a "John Wayne" because the actor was shown in a training film opening a can of K-rations. The P-38 can opener is keychain-sized, about 1.5 inches (38 mm) long, and consist…
Electric openers
The first electric can opener was patented in 1931 and modeled after the rotating wheel can opener design. Those openers were produced in the 1930s and advertised as capable of removing lids from more than 20 cans per minute without risk of injury. Nevertheless, they found little success. Electric openers were re-introduced in 1956 by two American companies. Klassen Enterprises o…