National Tin Can Day Date in the current year: January 19, 2024

A steel can, also known as tin can, is a thin metal container for the airtight preservation of various goods such as food, beverages, various chemicals, etc. Steel cans can be made of either tin-coated or tin-free steel, but both types may be referred to as tin cans. In some dialects of English, metal cans made from aluminum are also referred to as tin cans.

The history of canning dates back to the early 19th century when French confectioner Nicolas Appert experimented with preserving food in sealed glass bottles and opened the world’s first food preservation factory, La Maison Appert, in the town of Massy.

Several years later, French engineer Philippe de Girard, inspired by Appert’s experiments, came up with the idea of preserving food in tin cans. He persuaded English merchant Peter Durand to patent his invention. Although Durand did receive a patent, he chose not to pursue food canning.

In 1812, Durand sold the patent to John Hall and Bryan Donking, who developed and refined the canning process and opened a canning factory in London, where they produced canned meat and other foods for the Royal Navy and the British Army. The first canning factory in the United States was established later that year by Robert Ayars from New York City.

In the early 19th century, canned food was considered a novelty and somewhat of a status symbol. As canning companies expanded their businesses, it became cheaper and more available to people of various social classes. But it was World War I that made the canned food industry skyrocket because armies needed large amounts of cheap and nutritious food that had a long shelf life and was easy to transport.

After the war, canned foods became widely available to the civilian population, and today, we can hardly imagine our lives without them. Tin cans have a number of advantages compared to other types of packaging: they are less fragile than glass and stronger than plastic or cartons; they ensure 100% protection from air, light, and water; they extend the shelf life of the products they contain; they do not require refrigeration and therefore help to save energy; finally, they are highly recyclable and thus the use of tin cans contributes to waste reduction.

The origins of National Tin Can Day are unclear, but tin cans surely deserve to be celebrated. You can observe the holiday by learning more about the history of tin cans, stocking up on your favorite canned foods, cooking a meal using only or mostly canned foods, taking a bunch of cans to a recycling center or using them to make various crafts, or finding other uses for empty tin cans. And don’t forget to spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NationalTinCanDay and #TinCanDay.