this is a story about Innovation and how
sometimes an innovation can occur that
to one person seems obviously better
than the status quo but others might
view as frivolous and unnecessary to the
point that it goes completely unnoticed
much of navigating life is an analysis
of pros and cons and part of what makes
us unique as individuals is that our
personal pros and cons lists are all
like different something you think is a
pro I might think is a con or maybe we
both think something's a con but we put
different weights on the same con which
another agreed upon Pro might outweigh
for only one of us and maybe we don't
even know there's something out there
with a pro to the
con with that in mind today we're going
to look at a can opener yes what better
way to start 2022 than with a can opener
I certainly can't think of anything more
ideal fun fact ever since I was a small
child my parents had a Black and Decker
electric can opener in the kitchen which
was called grand
openings maybe that's why I'm like this
anyway there has been a new kind of can
opener since the 1980s which while I
know has found its way into pop culture
at least one time in an episode of
Everybody Loves Raymond for the record
seems to have largely languished away in
the kitchen drawer of mild
obscurities this is what it looks like
actually yeah if you just handed like a
can of beans over to someone and
expected them without instruction to
figure out how to open it with this
thing well I don't expect it would go
over very well even if they had prior
can opener experience I mean there's no
lever there's no blade it's just a
handle with a twisty bit and a metal
Loop plus this weird Little Wheel thing
this does not seem helpful but in fact
this can can opener opens cans in a
fundamentally different way than a
typical can opener and having used it
for a while I am surprised these haven't
largely displaced the ordinary kind for
several reasons see an ordinary can
opener works by piercing the lid of a
can and cutting through it let me show
you how to use one a very basic can
opener might looks something like this
it's made of three basic parts two metal
handles which pivot against each other
like pliers and a toothed wheel which is
rotated by this grip the lower handle
carries a blade with it that wraps
around the other handle and slides just
past the wheel when you rest the blade
on the edge of a can squeezing the
handles together brings that wheel up
against the can's rim and if you squeeze
hard enough the blade will puncture the
lid and now since the wheel has those
sharp teeth on it turning the grip while
still squeezing the handles pulls the
can hand back towards the blade making a
continuous cut around the edge of the
lid until finally it returns to where it
started and the lid can be bent out of
the way or removed
entirely this design isn't that easy to
use though because you're effectively
just plowing your way through a piece of
sheet steel an improved design uses a
round cutting wheel which is turned
along with the toothed friction wheel
with these gears
this cuts through the lid with much less
effort because the cutting wheel in
effect works like a continual puncturing
rather than just dragging a knife
through the lid however the end result
is pretty much the same you end up with
a hole in the can's lid and now what
used to fill that hole presents a nice
little bit of danger for you to deal
with thanks to its sharp edges that's
one of the primary things this design
purports to fix these are often sold as
safe can openers because they can open a
can without leaving sharp edges and they
do that by not attacking the lid itself
but its seam now unsurprisingly there
are many deep rabbit holes you can
choose to go down here if you like the
evolution of the can itself is its own
fascinating story did you know the Can
was invented decades before the can
opener yeah the earliest merchants of
food sold in cans basically said you
figure it out and the first thing you
might call a can opener actually came
included with every can often in the
form of a key welded to the can which
would then be used to Aid in peeling
away a section of it also there are many
interesting and noteworthy can opener
designs Through The Years such as the
pocket can openers used to open field
rations but aside from the prior few
sentences this video is not addressing
that history from now on assume a
standard can in a fr L vacuum modern
cans are sealed not by welding or with
solder or solder if you think the L is
important rather a fascinating little
bit of engineering is done with the
interface between the lid and the sides
of the can the ends of the can's sides
are folded over creating an upside down
U shape and then the lid of the can is
folded over that fold and then back up
into it this interlocking shape composed
of five total layers is then clamped
together in a special press called a can
seamer creating the double seam that we
know and love this works very well and
has been the standard can ceiling
arrangement for many decades not just in
cans like these but also in beverage
cans although in its own little bit of
cleverness the aluminum beverage can
forego a second lid on the bottom for a
single sides and bottom piece with an
inverted Dome shape stamped into the
bottom to give it strength sneaky little
trick that is anyway for the most part
this seam is left intact when cans are
opened ordinary can openers do use the
seam for the leverage necessary to
puncture the can and for traction when
pulling the can towards the cutting
blade but that's about it the seam
remains in place and you're left with a
can that has had a large hole made in
its lid this can opener though Cuts not
through the lid's top but through the
can's double seam
this allows you to entirely remove the
lid intact and that's why this thing
looks so odd the actual cutting surface
is part of this small wheel which rides
around the edge of the can and the nural
wheel sitting above and perpendicular to
it turns with the crank handle that
wheel has threads on its insides and is
attached to the crank handle through
those threads cleverly pulling the
knurled wheel into the cutting wheel as
the handle is turned that creates
continuous inward pressure against the
cutting blade here's how it works it's
recommended that you first rotate the
crank handle counterclockwise to ensure
the Turning wheel is extended outward
once that's done you place the can
opener on top of the can using the metal
Loop here as a guide to keep it level
and with the can's Rim Landing between
the two
wheels then you simply start turning the
crank as you start the Turning wheel is
pulled inward clamping the can opener to
the can's seam as you continue turning
the can is pulled through the opener
while the cutting wheel makes a shallow
cut into the seam near the top the
strange thing about this is that it
doesn't really look like you're
accomplishing anything at all however
once you've made it back to where you
started you can simply remove the opener
and the lid simply comes right off
without any drama at all I don't know
about you but to me this seems obviously
and dramatically better there is no
squeezing Force necessary to puncture
the lid the lid comes off intact and
much more cleanly with no risk of
falling into the can and of course it is
much safer to handle because the cut and
thus sharp surface isn't on its Edge
it's there but because of the fact that
it's on the underside of the lid you're
not likely to be hurt by it same deal
for the cut Edge on the can
additionally because the cutting blade
doesn't ever enter the can you never get
bits of food juices anywhere on the can
opener it stays completely clean you can
also put the lid back on the can if you
like though of course not with any sort
of positive seal so I suppose that's not
much of a benefit however probably my
most appreciated benefit of this can
opener is that delting the can also
makes getting its contents out much
easier taking the lid off entirely means
you aren't fighting that little Rim left
by ordinary can openers in fact I've
started using this to open certain cans
with pole tops for this reason like for
instance when my inner six-year-old
wants his Chef boy Rd seriously the
ravioli it just slides out it doesn't
get stuck at the edge of the oh right
like you don't know exactly what I'm
talking about don't kid yourselves
anyway I've also been opening cans of
particularly chunky soups despite having
pull tops though with these particular
cans you actually have to open them from
the bottom because they have a very
tapered top for whatever reason and that
interferes with this little guide piece
though it also interferes with ordinary
can openers too maybe that's intentional
but my boy Ry didn't feel the need so
what's the downside of this design well
of course there is one perhaps
two maybe three firstly and most
definitely while this is a lot easier to
get started at least in my opinion the
small wheel means you need to turn the
crank kind of a lot it's not very hard
to turn but it's on the harder side I
think it's easier than some can openers
but progress is slower than you might be
used to and so it definitely feels like
it takes more effort however because it
doesn't require squeezing Force while
you turn I think it might be easier for
my many people especially those with
disabilities but I also don't want to
speak for anyone and of course there are
far more accessible options out there
like the aformentioned electric openers
which are available in no sharp edges
form the second downside is going to be
one of those things that either really
matters to you or you just are aware of
and so keep in the back of your head
occasionally The Cutting action leaves
teeny tiny almost like threads of metal
hanging off either the lid or the can
itself I've seen this happen but frankly
it doesn't bother me in the slightest
because well first of all whatever
little shreds might be left by the
cutting wheel are on the outside of the
can they don't actually make it into the
tomato paste or whatever but frankly
even if they did well that doesn't
really feel like a catastrophe to me but
looking at some reviews people have left
for similar can openers that does freak
some folks out so there's your fair
warning again to me me it seems like a
non-issue especially because if you want
you can just look for them and rub them
off before you empty the can the third
downside is purely theoretical and that
would be potentially spotty can
compatibility or can patibility I didn't
even think this was an issue and still
kind of doubt it really is frankly but
since these chunky cans are foiling the
opener on their top side I thought I'd
point it out it's worth noting that the
patent for this design claims it can
work even on Square cans so long as they
have rounded corners and since
practically all cans are made using a
double seam I don't think there are many
cases where this wouldn't open a can but
you know maybe your favorite tin of
crushed pineapple from that Boutique
grocery you like will foil this thing I
don't know now despite the appearance
that I'm pivoting the channel hard into
the incredibly lucrative can opener
review Market
that's not the point of the video the
point well okay it's pretty esoteric but
why are these still so obscure I mean
they were invented in the 1980s and yet
I had to make an effort to find this
among the Sea of other can opener
options available in the store you can
tell this is still obscure because the
packaging had printed instructions on it
none of the other can openers bother
with that they just expect someone to
have taught you how to use a can opener
this one though it's like I'm gonna blow
your mind now I can imagine that when
they were first released and patent
protected maybe they were pretty
expensive but now they can be had for
less than 10 bucks and yeah they're not
super hard to find but they sure aren't
the default perhaps this design just
doesn't last as long as an ordinary can
opener but I got to say that its cutting
action seems at least to me far more
gentle and less likely to wear down with
each use so I kind of doubt that but I
won't rule it out I think that mainly
it's just can opener disruption isn't a
thing that crosses people's minds all
that much for one thing with the Advent
of pull toop cans can openers are
objectively less necessary than they
used to be I mean I still need to use
one perhaps weekly but I don't think
it's the kitchen staple it once was
especially since there seems to be an
ongoing cultural shunning of Cam and
Foods in general which your host thinks
smells pretty classist for the record
Foods food and non-p perishable lowcost
options are important to millions of
people plus two words baked
beans anyway my judgmental feelings
towards judgmental people aside if I
were to guess why this isn't the default
can opener by now I would say that the
can opener exists in most people's
imagination as a fact of life I mean
most things come with some sort of
instructions but your typical manual can
opener just doesn't it's a can opener
someone is supposed to have taught you
how to use this at some point and when
you've lived your life knowing that cans
get opened with one of these and that
the lid is going to be sharp so be
careful and that while it might fall
into the can if you're not paying
attention you can always just choose to
pay attention a new and improved version
may seem entirely Superfluous especially
when you probably already have a can
opener they're not exactly a frequent
purchase side note I often tout my
Midwestern this because having grown up
here I smugly think that the values
imparted on me of making do with what
you have and striving not for Perfection
but for adequacy are better than
whatever your values
are I kid mostly but lately I've been
discovering what I call toxic Midwestern
inty in myself and some of my friends
the general aversion towards spending
time effort and especially money on
things which could materially improve
your life often causes folks like me to
just accept a clearly suboptimal
situation as fine like for instance a
60-year-old wooden step ladder that's
way too old rickety and wobbly to be
trusted at this point especially as one
is getting on in years perhaps the
purchase of a new step ladder is
obviously warranted but toxic Midwestern
nity will keep you from buying a new one
because you already have a perfectly
good step ladder but really it's clearly
dangerous at this point that's right I'm
calling you out Mr C throw that thing
away uh why am I bringing this up right
because this feels adjacent to that
phenomenon having lived my whole life
expecting can openers to be a certain
way well I've simply never questioned
their issues and even though I knew a
can opener existed which didn't leave
sharp edges I did indeed see that
episode of Raymond never did I try to
seek it out because well a can opener is
a can opener and I'm a big boy I know
how to handle sharp edges I only got
this because my cheap can opener has
started getting really difficult to use
and when looking for a replacement I
remembered that someone reminded me
about the safety can opener and
requested a video on it regretfully I
have no idea who that was or even when
that happened at this point but it
lodged in my brain enough to make me
look for one and here we are wow this
video took a weird turn is there a
technology connection to be found
here well I suppose it's more of a
social commentary connection but this
can opener has led me to ask a pretty
deep question what else might we be
using or doing in day-to-day life which
we just assume is how things are and
never
question that's a deep line of inquiry
isn't it you can choose to go as deep as
you'd like but I'll just pull us back
from that precipice and focus on
Technologies I think it's very normal
and useful to be cynical towards what
purports to be technological progress
there are plenty of instances where
tried and true simple techniques are
frankly fine if not Superior and a lot
of what we are sold as new and exciting
turns out to be a gimmick if we're lucky
it's very easy to over complicate things
in the name of the new and
understandably that can make us
skeptical of innovation full stop the
trouble is though if you make the
assumption that there aren't
improvements to be made you may not ever
look for them and indeed can miss a lot
of progress that is happening around you
while you aren't paying attention even
something as simple as a can opener has
had a profound change made to its design
that to me has improved my life in a
surprising if admittedly small in the
grand scheme way yet not a lot of people
seem to have noticed it perhaps I'm
wrong and many of you have used these
and you can't stand them but seeing how
there was just this one option in the
store among well over a dozen standard
designs of various quality and colors
I'm thinking this remains pretty obscure
and as I've said and hopefully
demonstrated I find this far superior in
nearly all aspects as a can opener I
opened this video by saying that part of
what makes us individuals is that our
own pros and cons lists are unique I
still think that's true and maybe many
of you will have watched this video and
found this can opener to be entirely
unextraordinary I mean it is just a can
opener after all but I think we owe it
to ourselves to at least periodically
reassess our thoughts on well pretty
much anything I have routinely run into
people who for instance had a bad
experience with a heat pump 20 years ago
and dread the push for them now based on
that fact but 20 years have passed
they've gotten better in that time I
promise you but unless you actively take
a look you may have never realized it
and if you didn't like what you saw 20
years ago you probably stopped caring to
look that's just one example but the
idea Remains the Same be it a can opener
a heat pump a software package a washing
machine we seem to really struggle with
the notion of well that's just how
things are or sometimes worse that's
just how things should be and rarely
question whether that's true or right if
I can find myself baffled by my
ignorance of a simple can opener imagine
what else in this world is actually
Worthy of disruption but I think equally
important is that sometimes it's not
actually the thing itself that needs
disrupting but the ways we think about
it thanks for
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watching but we put different weights on
the same con which another agreed
upon ever since I was a small child my
parents had a black and
white Black and Decker my parents had a
black and I did it again these are often
sold as
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safe and they do that by not attacking
the because the cutting wheel is in
effect oops lately I've been discovering
what I call toxic
Midwestern such as the pocket can
openers used to open field rations but
it's well
that takes care of that
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