by Fenella Saunders
The can opener did not come along until many years after the invention of the can. Around 1810 Peter Durand, a British merchant, invented sealed, thick-walled metal storage canisters that had to be busted open with a hammer and chisel or bayonet. In 1858, American inventor Ezra Warner patented an oversized ancestor of the old-fashioned tin opener. It clamped onto the side of the can with a sickle-shaped blade, providing leverage for a second, attached blade to pierce a hole in the top. A crank-operated can opener with a rotating cutting wheel appeared in 1870, invented by William Lyman of Connecticut. In 1925, the Star Can Company of San Francisco improved on Lyman's design by adding a second, serrated wheel to grab the edge of a can. Electric openers were introduced by several manufacturers in 1957. Pull-open cans, patented by Ermal Fraze of Ohio, debuted in 1966.
The can opener did not come along until many years after the invention of the can. Around 1810 Peter Durand, a British merchant, invented sealed, thick-walled metal storage canisters that had to be busted open with a hammer and chisel or bayonet. In 1858, American inventor Ezra Warner patented an oversized ancestor of the old-fashioned tin opener. It clamped onto the side of the can with a sickle-shaped blade, providing leverage for a second, attached blade to pierce a hole in the top. A crank-operated can opener with a rotating cutting wheel appeared in 1870, invented by William Lyman of Connecticut. In 1925, the Star Can Company of San Francisco improved on Lyman's design by adding a second, serrated wheel to grab the edge of a can. Electric openers were introduced by several manufacturers in 1957. Pull-open cans, patented by Ermal Fraze of Ohio, debuted in 1966.
