Thread by @MiningNS

Some people have been buying extra canned food lately. Here is a quick history of tin cans!

The #tin can had its origins in the perennial problem of how to feed an army on-the-move...
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Napoleon Bonaparte offered a reward in 1795 to anyone who coming up with a way to preserve food for military use. In 1810, French chef Nicolas Appert won the 12,000-franc prize by inventing canning — the process of sealing food/drink in a jar/bottle with the use of boiling water.

This discovery cleared the way for the invention of the #tin can not long after. In 1810, British merchant Peter Durand got a patent for using tin-plated steel to can food - a thin layer of corrosion-resistant tin between the food and the steel kept the food safe.
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Most metals would react to the acids that foods naturally produce and begin to corrode, releasing molecules that would destroy the can and contaminate the food.
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In the past, this was a significant problem with lead, which would leach out dangerous toxins into food packaged in lead cans. #Tin, on the other hand, resists corrosion so it's able to safely hold food for a long time.
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Today many cans are made of aluminum - although we often still call them tin cans or tins.
Nova Scotia has a #tin deposit.

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