Lessons from a Can Opener

Even though it was patented back in the 80’s, it’s still cutting edge technology.

6:01 - I was wondering how that soda can fell with no sound, but then I remembered Alec is in a frictionless vacuum.

also on the "someone will have taught you how to use a can opener" assumption, I want you to picture three 20 year olds standing around a kitchen counter trying to figure out how to open a can of tomato paste bc somehow all three of them were never taught how to use a can opener. That is one of my most formative life experiences

I love the concept of Toxic Midwesterninty. My mother grew up in a house where her father literally would add new rooms from industrial or construction cast-offs, and impressive though it was, her attitude of "you can literally get by in ljfe using garbage" often was at odds with great outcomes. I appreciate her lessons on making do with literally whatever you have, and I am sure it made me actively more creative. But I am also proud that just last month I stared at the 25-year-old speakers I was once again fiddling with to get sound to come out of both at once, and suddenly said "fuck this" and threw them away and bought new ones. It was like $20 to solve a problem I had at least weekly. It was revelatory.

Now I expect a video on cans. From the hard soldered ones, that could be quite dangerous if done improperly, through the war year ones, to the modern ones with liners that essentially eliminate problems with botulism. And all the rabbit holes to square cans, flat cans, integrated openings, whether key, pop top, etc, to the self heating cans for military, and survival use. Easily another video or two in there.

"Assume a standard can in a frictionless vacuum." This, this right here is why I love your videos. Thank you!

My parents got one similar to this like thirty years ago and it's pretty much all I grew up on. I could never understand why my friends' families didn't also use them, since they're so obviously superior. I even recall cutting myself on a can at a friend's house and yelling something like, "God damn it, tell your family to get a real can opener!!"

I love these kind of can openers. Saw an automated one at goodwill for $3 right as i was gearing up to move to college. Tested it out at home. I was so blown away and excited by the fact that i just opened a can, lifted the top straight off, didnt even have a chance of slicing my finger open or getting sauce all over the lid or the can opener itself You would not believe how disgusting the old can openers get after opening about 10 cans. Caked sauce flaking off, impossible to clean without hurting yourself, having to shove a tiny knife into your can with a lever so THAT gets messy too But this amazing, stupid simple, marvel of human ingenuity does away with literally every flaw present in my own standard use case. As an engineering student, it was a bit of a wonderful moment of discovery. I will be keeping this can opener for literally as long as i can still walk the earth. Which might be my toxic midwesterninity showing, but i dont care.

This fits oddly well with the side discussion: “I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies,” writes Douglas Adams in The Salmon of Doubt. 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things."

The opening and the "assume a standard can in a frictionless vacuum" hit me just right and I was howling with laughter

I have a standard can opener but my life changed when I learned you can also cut the lid seam with them like the safety opener does! If you clamp the wheels to the inner and outer sides of the lip, so the handles both are parallel to the lid, it pops the whole top off cleanly! Makes me crazy that I could have been doing that my whole life.. Thank you for shining a light on such over looked and ever faithful kitchen utensils!

I'm glad you said that about the canned foods snobbery, I deal with it so often as someone with a, shall we say, not as replete income. I can't afford to pay a twenty for fresh foods outside of harvest time and people treat me like I'm a worse person for it.

9:35 having worked in a grocery store, i can say with absolute certainty that the taper is there for better stacking. The ravioli cans will slide off the rim of another can easily, while the taper makes it impossible without also knocking down the can beneath it. Those cans are a blessing when stocking shelves

a 22 minute video about can openers? YES PLEASE

Your bit at about 17 mins in is actually spot on for people with executive dysfunction! It's common in folks with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and other issues. Not quite where you were going with that but thinking that way has blown my mind and really helped me in my day-to-day life. "X being this way is weirdly hard for me to keep up with even though everyone else does it. I will change X to Y so it's more convenient for ME" I keep a small pantry box of dry, ready to eat foods in my closet, and next to my bed I keep my pills that require food to take. And I have two garbage cans in here even though the room isn't very big. It's the little things.

As someone who eats a lot of soup, I bought one of these can openers as soon as I saw this video. And wow, they are an absolute game changer. As you said, everything in the can slides right out! No fighting with sharp edges from the pull tab or a "regular" can opener. Thank you so much, you have saved me from endless (mild) inconvenience.

When I was a teenager, the lawnmower my parents owned had a self propelling feature which didn't work. This made the lawnmower a heavy push mower. The need for a replacement wasn't very high for my parents despite my complaints. This one worked just fine. When I moved out, however, they promptly bought a riding mover.

To add to the can being invented before the can opener: The "can" was also invented before softer alloys used in cans today, meaning in many cases, you had to literally break out a hammer and a chisel to open your beans.

Toxic Midwesterninity is a great term. I think you could also call it Toxic Depressioninity as people who grew up in the Great Depression tended to scrape by on whatever they had as well. My mom has a little bit of it. I wanted to try making onion rings and my mom suggested I use her old deep fryer. It was a round fryer with 4 legs, about the size of a pressure cooker. It was also missing a leg(!) and incredibly old and dingy, pretty thoroughly crusted with gunk. My mom is a worrier and a bit of a safety nut, so I was very surprised she was suggesting I use something that had a fairly high chance of burning her house down. But that's toxic Midwesterninity for you, I guess. She had a working fryer, so why bother getting a new one?

This can opener tip will make your life easier: just stick the blade side of the can opener on the outside of the can. Right underneath the seam. The line will cut straight and the lid will come off much easier without falling in. The edges are still a bit sharp, but that’s less of an issue when you don’t have to reach your fingers into the can. Good luck friends. 👍