Alive
Whilst away on holiday I got to thinking about survival. Why, you may ask, did this cross my mind? Well, I was on a skiing holiday in the Alps and it occurred to me that cans – specifically canned foods – can play an important role when it comes to living in mountain regions, and indeed in any region.
Keeping food fresh for months on end is the main charm of the canned food item. Imagine you are snowed in for any length of time and all you have is fresh food. Once this is gone or spoiled, what do you have left? Nothing is the answer.
Enter the can. A can of food can last for years if undamaged and, provided you have the means to open it, could just save the day in certain situations.
It sounds strange to refer to this, but the first things a doomsday prepper will go for on a pre-apocalyptic shopping trip are cans of food. You can’t live on fresh food in your shelter for enough time for the air to clear, so the sensible shelter-ee will reach for the cans!
Scott of the Antarctic saw the benefits too. Ok, his expedition did not have a happy ending, but for months the men relied on canned rations to see them through the harsh conditions they faced on that unforgiving continent.
New technologies have seen the food can evolve significantly from it’s early incarnations, and the now lighter weight versions mean that it is ever easier to keep them moving around the world. Let us also be thankful that coatings have evolved at the same time, as were we still to use the lead based coatings of old we would not be singing the praises of this container quite so readily.
Seaming has also moved forward, along with ends, ensuring that the contents of these cans are secured and sealed against the elements and that the contents remain fresh and in many cases nutritionally unaffected.
So, even if you are not preparing for the worst or planning a trip to the ceremonial south pole, cans will almost certainly play a big part in your life and everyone’s lives around the world, and it is this and the drive to keep improving this wonderful container that keeps us all in gainful employment.
Richard
