The tin can 200 years after its first patenting, from BBC News Magazine.

[randomness]

Instructions from Fortnum and Mason's 1849 catalogue on how to open cans.
From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21689069:

So committed were these bright minds to the technology of food preservation that they gave little thought to making a device to open their new invention, so for decades a hammer and chisel, a bayonet or a rock had to do the job.

...

The first tin opener was designed in the 1860s, but it didn't become a staple of household drawers until a second serrated wheel was added in 1925.

Comments

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

I really like the animated GIF at the top of the page, a very nice use of the technology indeed!

[rfrancis]

We should count ourselves lucky that the can isn't still covered under patent.