Invention and Inventions ... History. View more. The tin cannister, or can, was invented in 1810 by a Londoner, Peter Durand. So as you might imagine, early cans were opened by brute force. How did people open cans before can openers were invented? Can Opener. Our story starts in 1795, when Napoleon Bonaparte offered a … The tin canister, or can, was invented in 1810 by a Londoner, Peter Durand. Cans were opened with a hammer and chisel before the advent of can openers. Oddly, customers who bought the cans could never buy this opener; a store clerk opened each can before it was taken home. Not the best method in the world for keeping one’s food un-mashed, but nevertheless got the job done. Before that, the metal used for cans was too thick for something like a can opener to be possible. The early cans were far too thick for any dedicated can opener. In those households they'd plan their meals around the train schedule. Cans were opened with a hammer and chisel before the advent of can openers. Can openers invented 48 years after cans. William Lyman invented a different version in 1866. On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented the first US can opener. I think the first food packaged in a sealed metal can was from the 1820s or 1830s. This can opener was only available at the store-cans were opened before the customer left the store. How did the first tin cans get opened? Do we know the earliest culture that produced beer? The first tin cans were so thick they had to be hammered open. The U.S. military used it during the Civil War. To open these cans, which could be as thick as 3/16 of an inch, it was suggested that they be "cut around at the top with a chisel and hammer." No Answers Yet. But there are reasons the can opener took a while to show up. History of Inventions ... History. Before the can opener could be invented, someone needed to create a can for food storage. The early cans were far too thick for any dedicated can opener. The year before, French confectioner, Nicolas Appert, had introduced the method of canning food (as it became known) by sealing the food tightly inside a glass bottle or jar and then heating it. Related Questions. A chisel and a hammer, writes Kaleigh Rogers for Motherboard.Given that the first can opener famously wasn’t invented for about fifty years after cans … instead, people just uses whatever they could to open cans: knives or chisels might be employed. How did people open cans before can openers were invented? In really religious households, they'd take the cans to church, put them in front … On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented the first US can opener. In 1870, William Lyman invented the modern can opener, which has a cutting wheel that rolls around the rim. How old is the practice of making beer? As the Donner Party taught us though, hungry men will find a way to eat. Then they'd put them on the track shortly before the train came by. Update Cancel. View more. The idea of storing food in cans dates back almost 50 years earlier when Peter Durand of England patented a can made of wrought iron with a tin lining. In 1925, the Star Can Company introduced a minor change; the serrated rotation wheel. No Answers Yet. In 1866, J. Osterhoudt patented the tin can with a key opener that you can find on sardine cans. This newer can opener had a wheel that allowed for the opener to turn around the can. There also is some evidence of heavy metal cans were in common use in the Dutch Navy during the 1770s. The origin of the tin can is usually attributed to Peter Durand in 1810, with the first canning plant opened in England in 1813. Can Opener. History of Inventions . This is the type of can opener we still use today. The age old “smash it with a hammer and chisel” technique was commonplace. Do we know the earliest culture that produced beer? Cans. So as you might imagine, early cans were opened by brute force. Tin cans were around long before the first can opener was patented. How old is the practice of making beer? Unless they lived by the railroad tracks.