Important Little Things

Me again ^ | 1/23/16 | Me

[Baynative]

For weekend amusement, I am sharing a conversation I had yesterday about important little things that people created, maybe out of frustration or by accident that make our lives better.

[Baynative]

Just a few:

Matches - England
Zipper - US
Paper Clip - Norway
Sandpaper - US

[Baynative]

An oddity we found was that tin cans were invented early in the 18800s, but the can opener didn’t come along for another 50 years. I wonder how the cans were used and how they knew they worked.

[goodnesswins]

Racist /s

[Baynative]

18800s 1800s (of course)

[Baynative]

"Racist /s"

That's funny - one of the things on our list was peanut butter!

[r_barton]

Google. World knowledge at your fingertips.

Before the internet most homes had a Information Please World Almanac. Remember those? Or the set of encyclopedias bought one at a time, weekly, from the supermarket. Remember those? Or of course you went to the library more.

[eclecticEel]

[left that other site]

Wite-Out...USA, by Mike Nesmith’s Mom
Velcro...USA by someone trying to comb burrs out of his dogh’sd fur (seriously!)

[JoeProBono]

[Baynative]

Mrs. Stoudt was a gift to men everywhere.

[Nifster]

And women as well

[Jamestown1630]

My grandmother used something like this, even into her ‘nineties (strong hands!):

http://www.amazon.com/stab-opener-FASHIONED-PUSH-OPENERS/dp/B004AFELB0

-JT

[goodnesswins]

I remember those!

[Jamestown1630]

I never got the hang of them; but my grandmother was born in 1890, and didn’t have a choice :-)

-JT

[goodnesswins]

I think I remember using one at my great grandmas...I’m always amazed at people who use electric can openers...waste of counter space

[Jamestown1630]

Also no good when the power goes out.

The preppers always say, “One is none; two is one”. Just for everyday life, it’s good to always have at least two manual can openers. Those things get old and break, usually when you’re in the middle of cooking ;-).

-JT

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Wikipedia says the first cans weighed more than the contents (late 1700s) and instructions said to open with hammer and chisel! Then along came the can opener over 50 years later. You are right...that was a big time gap!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The coffee mill. Imagine how grumpy everybody would be without their coffee jolt...

[oldvirginian]

I still use one of those.
I hate electric openers and keep a good push pull handy.
I also find it easier than the ones with the gears that don’t quite grip the can enough to get the job done.
I have a hard time holding the handles tightly enough to keep the gear engaged enough to move the can and loosely enough to let the can move!
The simplest tool is usually the best.