RE: old school

[Fred Ridder <docudoc -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Apologising in advance for continuing an off-topic thread spun off of anotheroff-topic thread, I have to point out that there is a fundamental problem with
the origin of "church key" proposed below.  The problem is simple: it was the can piercer that was added to the cap 
removal implement that had existed for many years before beer was ever 
put in a can. The "crown cork"--the original (non-twist off) form of the 
familiar crimped-on bottle cap--was patented in 1892, and was used to 
seal beer and other beverage bottles by the turn of the century. Cap 
lifters, which had a clear resemblance to the loop end of a old-style
key (i.e. for a non pin tumbler lock).  It was not until about 1933 that cans were used for beverages. Before that time, cans were only used for food. And it should also be noted thatin the early years of canned beverages, a can with a conical top that usedthe familiar crown cork seal (bottle cap) coexisted with flat-top cans and was basically as widely used. But neither form of can was very 
popular because they had not developed a lining that wouldn't react 
with the acidity in most beverages and impart a metallic taste.
 
So key-shaped implements for opening beverage bottles existed for at
least 35 years before there was ever any reason to have a punch-type
can opener (as opposed to one that completely removed one end of the 
can), let alone any reason to combine them on one universal implement
for openign beverage containers.  > Apparently, there is controversy surrounding why a can (and later, bottle)> opener was called a church key. Funny thing about the Internet, the more> information we get, the more controversy we get.> > Here's how I understood the story from people who have told me different> stories about it through my life, which are not consistent with Internet> lore. Back in the ancient days, when beer was sold in tin cans before> poptops, people would need to cut open the can or use a flat, pointed metal> can opener that looked like a key to pierce the can. Churches forbade> drinking, so the key-like can opener got the name "church key." Later, the> church key can opener got a bottle opener stuck on its rear-end for> new-fangled bottle tops. But "church key" refers to the can opener part of> the tool.> > There is no clear story about the truth of the source of the name and most> stories about the history refer to the appearance of the bottle and can> opener combo-tool that resembles a key to a church. 
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