That Can-Do Spirit

Although canned food was first produced commercially in 1810, almost another half a century passed before hungry folks had an easy way to open those cans. Peter Durand, the British merchant who first patented the idea of preserving food in cans, showed surprisingly little interest in how consumers could extract the contents. Early opening instructions read simply, “Cut round the top near the outer edge with a chisel and hammer.” So perhaps the most remarkable thing about the invention of the can opener is that it took so long. And even after the first can openers appeared, the gizmos were so dangerous and impractical that they were mostly used in grocery stores, where clerks opened the cans for customers to take home.