[img]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2013/newsspec_5175/tincan_gifanimate6.gif[/img]
I totally didn't post this article just for the production line gif I swear
[quote]Today, billions of cans are sold every year throughout the world
The first mass production of tin cans of food was in a south London factory by Bryan Donkin
Supplied to the Royal Navy in 1813, they changed warfare and, later, exploration and diets
But a food scandal in the 1850s rocked public confidence in this new invention
[b]This feature takes about [highlight]25 minutes to read[/highlight][/b][/quote]
[t]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/67159000/jpg/_67159903_old_cans_640x360.jpg[/t]
[quote]Tin cans have, in 200 years, changed the way the world eats. But Victorian disgust over a cheap meat scandal almost consigned the invention to rejection and failure.
Bryan Donkin left the chimney smoke of the city behind as his carriage headed south through Bermondsey, with the Duke of Kent's letter of approval in his hand.
The smell of leather and hops receded as he came to the turnpike at Fort Place Gate, where the gatekeeper's two-storey, brick house marked the end of the urban sprawl.
Behind him was an unhindered view of St Paul's Cathedral while in front lay open land and his factory, where for the previous two years he had been trying to find the best ways to can food.
He could not have known that the impact from the contents of the papers he held would still be felt across the globe 200 years later.
Dated 30 June 1813, the day before, the letter explained that four distinguished members of the royal family - including Queen Charlotte, wife and consort of King George III - had tasted and enjoyed his canned beef.
Indulging such refined palates was not a matter of vanity for this modest Northumbrian engineer.
Instead, it meant he had the highest possible blessing to supply what are thought to be the world's first commercial cans of preserved food to the Admiralty, thereby sparing British seamen thousands of miles away the monotony of salted meat.[/quote][quote]
Canning has come a long way since Donkin's fledgling factory opened for business in the summer of 1813, with a handful of people each making six cans an hour.
The Harris Academy school pupils who every day walk across the ground upon which this industry was born will soon be reminded of its significance. Head Dawn Rumley is planning a special assembly to mark the anniversary.
"It is exciting to think as we learn each day that this piece of world history existed right beneath our feet," she says. "And to see the tin can feature so prominently in our everyday lives 200 years later."
Whether the canned food industry is in such health come its 300th birthday in the year 2113 remains to be seen.
But the tins you have today in your cupboard will be.[/quote]
It's a really interesting, if really fucking long, read, and it's here for your delectation: [b][url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21689069[/url][/b]
Not 100% sure if this is the right place to be posting something along these lines as it isn't "news" as such but decided to put it here as it's a BBC journalistic affair, might be better in GD though
I tink I can see what you were going for with this thread
Hm, tin cans are a mechanically simple concept, though. Even if the idea fell through in Victorian England, it would've been adopted soon after, and almost certainly in the Americas.
Oh that is long, I'm a quarter way in, it's a good read so far though.
My melting pot brain of information grows today.
[QUOTE=Ninja Duck;40378346]My melting pot brain of information grows today.[/QUOTE]
Mine just boiled over and lost half of its content.
That 3 mile long foil... that was amazing to watch.
[QUOTE=archangel125;40378243]Hm, tin cans are a mechanically simple concept, though. Even if the idea fell through in Victorian England, it would've been adopted soon after, and almost certainly in the Americas.[/QUOTE]
To be honest, I'd expect it to be adopted by the germans or dutch before it would be adopted in the americas.
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