Can opener

Common card · No. 237690

A can opener (North American and Australian English) or tin opener (British English) is a mechanical device used to open metal tin 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 variations of a knife, though the 1855 design continues to be produced. A can opener using the now familiar rotating cutting wheel that runs round the can's rim to cut open the lid was invented in 1870, but the first such design was considered very difficult to operate for the ordinary consumer. A more successful design came out in 1925 when a second, opposing wheel was added, with a serrated surface to grip the rim of the can and keep the lid in contact with the cutting wheel. This easy-to-use design has become one of the most popular can opener models. Around the time of World War II, several can openers were developed for...

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