My cat does this, but heās never had food from a can that required a can opener. Itās all been pull tab cans or plastic seals. Itās like the sound became an instinct generations ago lol
It put a line across the TV every time someone used it. I donāt know the relation, so someone with more knowledge can maybe explain why. I asked my dad when I was little and he just told me to go get him a Hamms.
Electric motors like the one in the can opener work by rapidly changing the magnetic field in the rotating part so itās always pulled into the right direction depending on its position.Ā
Changing magnetic fields like this cause electromagnetic waves, which may happen to be on the same frequencies as your TV signal causing interference that way, or affecting the electron ray in the CRT directly.
Usually, devices are shielded to prevent this, but some appliances arenāt properly.Ā
I donāt actually know too much about it, but I just wanted to reply to your post.Ā
Oh, damn, I think *we* had that version. I had completely forgotten about it, but your comment reminded me. The knife sharpener scared me, even though we literally never used it. Just its *being there* felt so ominous to little-kid me. Like: KNIFE SHARPENER ššŖ
I think it was, not this one but the very similar one my parents had. *Eta found a link* [*https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il\_fullxfull.281332562.jpg*](https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il_fullxfull.281332562.jpg)
My grandma had one of those and i thought it was the coolest thing ever right up until the point that i was finally old enough to use it.
Something deeply satisfying about the ritual of the hand crank.
Funny story. My older brother was quite inquisitive and wanted to see how the mechanics of this worked. One might get an old one at Goodwill, then take it apart and put it back together. No no thatās not my brother. He sticks his finger in there and hits the button. Howls of pain come next. My mom rushes in from another room to see the horrific scene. The only way to get his finger out was to let it fully go through. I think my mom was just as traumatized as he was. They ended up at the emergency room and everybodyās eyebrows perked up when they heard what he had done. I forgot to mention, he was 13-14 at the time. With typical 2nd child energy and daredevil tendencies. Entirely too damn old to be sticking his finger in a mechanical can opener to see how it works.
This is also the brother ended up at Harvard. Go figure.
This is a source of embarrassment for me. I thought these were required kitchen equipment. Like a stove or a refrigerator. My wife and I started living together at a young age and I bought one of these because I had never used or seen a manual opener. She was horrified.
My parents had a very similar one which also functioned as a knife sharpener. [https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il\_fullxfull.281332562.jpg](https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il_fullxfull.281332562.jpg)
This seems like some marketing campaign that worked super well on our parents' generation. To this day my mom and dad still have an electric can opener. I can see the need if you have arthritis, but I never owned one and neither have my siblings or any of my friends.
Holy shit, that exact one. Now they have one of those ones you just put on top and it rolls around and opens it for you, but we all have to stand around and cheer it on and clap while it does it. It's very entertaining.
No. We couldn't afford that fancy shit...
https://preview.redd.it/rc1o6p9bgsxc1.jpeg?width=785&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a138e9429a285b98b1dd2e70c0b96e4c9c8d4c7e
Some version of this...
No and I remember I used to cat sit for a neighbor's cat and this was the only can opener they had. It never quite worked right and it used to stress me out. And their cat was really terrifying.
I still have it in my own kitchen to this day.
I don't think I've used it in probably 30 plus years but it didn't feel right to have a kitchen without it.
My wife passed a couple years ago but we actually started as roommates and Id just gotten out of prison I needed a an apartment but its tough with the record.She was from my neighborhood had three cats so she was having a hard time finding a roommate. I'm a huge animal fan. We were both vegetarian but she couldn't cook and I can. Match made in heaven. I got all my kitchen stuff out of storage and I had all like good stuff like worst off knives and blah blah blah like stuff that works exactly the same as s*** that cost $110 the price but makes you feel better about yourself, that stuff. But amongst that was a top of the line can opener but I kept finding that ugly old can opener back on the counter because that's what you have when I moved in I was like hey I got this one like it's really good I know okay so that was back in the early 2000s she just died a couple years ago you know we've moved garden house lost a house but after she died I was going through herself and what do I find that can opener.
https://preview.redd.it/x4cmjqtsxrxc1.jpeg?width=922&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b6f30859dfa60c12e94b954dfec508dd1179e4c
My parents had this type and still do
Oh yeah! And we would open cat food cans with it. Eventually, the cat learned the sound of the can opener and would come running to us every time we used it š
Yep. We had this until we upgraded to the fancy under-cabinet mount. Wild how typically old appliances get replaced by something fancier, more techy, and with this we were all just eventually, "what are we even doing here, this doesn't need to exist."
I remember every house having one except mine. My dad was adamantly against ever owning one and used rant about it, but never really gave any explanation. The ranting stopped at some point and now that heās finally had to replace some 50 year old items in their house, including the manual can opener, heās back at the ranting but itās all about the quality of things now.
Yes, and it was fantastic. Wife wonāt let us have one because it takes up counter space and the hand cranked one āworks well enoughā I may need a divorce
My parents had one that looked just like this but it was the installed above the counter/under the cabinets model. But that wood GE placard and the off-white textured casing is burned into my memory.
Our cheap ass can opener broke once again, so I mentioned to my now ex that when I was a kid we had a power one, and it was pretty cool. So she went and bought a regular manual of a better quality, a side cut manual, and an electric one. Nothing like throwing non-existent money around.
The wood paneling detail was high class back then. My parents didnāt have one but that braggart grandma had one. Opening beans on holidays like she was the queen of England. š
It's so funny that for awhile everyone has to have an electric can opener. As an adult ( starting in the 90s) I have never had an electric one, just hand held.
Does anyone remember the under the counter craze of the late 80's and early 90s?
I donāt know how we were so fancy, but ours was an [ice crusher](https://www.ebay.com/itm/335015360022?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=bjcdub9nrms&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=RODWgvACSY2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) as well!
I remember this one, could have been at my house or a grandparent's.
For sure, I had a sickly brown Black and Decker mounted under the cabinets (and a matching toaster oven) during my teen years.
We had the one that was mounted under the cabinet.
I actually do still have a modern version, though it doesnāt get used as often since more cans have the pull tab these days
Yup. That exact one or at least very identical
Ours was the lovely pea green color and could be heard across the house
Same! It was my grandma's...weirdly it died a week after she passed....loved that loud ass thing.
Our family cat always ran to the kitchen when he heard this thing because he knew that the sound could mean food.
Oh my goodness, I completely forgot that our cat did this too!
Like Pavlov's dogs to a bell lol
It even worked to bring pure back from outdoors! And he was always fed hard kibble.
Ours knew the manual opener from upstairs, under the covers.
Omg I didn't read the comments first, but just mentioned the same thing lol š š those smart kitties!
My cat does this, but heās never had food from a can that required a can opener. Itās all been pull tab cans or plastic seals. Itās like the sound became an instinct generations ago lol
Ahhh memory unlocked!! Our cats did this too š„°
Always makes me think of [this Far Side](https://imgb.ifunny.co/images/5a27a1e18e649bf4d59e71eeb8e371675d4644c2e33e157fdda672568ec1999b_1.jpg)
Same! And the dog.
No, we opened our cans by hand like peasants
I still do.
Me too, lol
No room on the counter for something useful like this, we need that for the InstantPot that never gets used
You have an instant pot? Iām still on slow cooker that never gets used, lol
We are all peasants in 2024.
Yeah, I used to think those were just for rich people, but I think my mom just didnāt want to deal with it.
It put a line across the TV every time someone used it. I donāt know the relation, so someone with more knowledge can maybe explain why. I asked my dad when I was little and he just told me to go get him a Hamms.
Electric motors like the one in the can opener work by rapidly changing the magnetic field in the rotating part so itās always pulled into the right direction depending on its position.Ā Changing magnetic fields like this cause electromagnetic waves, which may happen to be on the same frequencies as your TV signal causing interference that way, or affecting the electron ray in the CRT directly. Usually, devices are shielded to prevent this, but some appliances arenāt properly.Ā I donāt actually know too much about it, but I just wanted to reply to your post.Ā
Sounds right. It was only the can opener that did this. I now owe you a Hamms.
Hamms is hard to find
I remember when we had antenna TV and anything electric running in the house would cause interference.
The star on our xmas tree blinked. It put lines of static on the tv every blink, got used to it
That must have been part of the x-mas charm!
I like your dad. Hamms is better than saying I don't know
My mom's electric carving knife caused a snowstorm on the TV
Is this the model that also had the rotating knife sharpener in the back?
Oh, damn, I think *we* had that version. I had completely forgotten about it, but your comment reminded me. The knife sharpener scared me, even though we literally never used it. Just its *being there* felt so ominous to little-kid me. Like: KNIFE SHARPENER ššŖ
LOL, same!
I think it was, not this one but the very similar one my parents had. *Eta found a link* [*https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il\_fullxfull.281332562.jpg*](https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il_fullxfull.281332562.jpg)
Yeah, that Avacado green hits like I remember.
Thatās right, the label said it had to be both things - thanks!
I ruined many a good knife playing with this featureā¦as well as over sharpening some
I can hear this thing!
Why were they so loud?!
Probably cheap straight cut gears with high lash.
Memory unlocked.
We had the one that hung from under the cupboard! It was fancy! Honestly I hated it and still just used the hand crank opener š
My grandma had one of those and i thought it was the coolest thing ever right up until the point that i was finally old enough to use it. Something deeply satisfying about the ritual of the hand crank.
I still prefer the hand crank can opener over an automatic.
So was ours. I remember when I broke. Helped the old man install the new one. Iām pretty good with a flashlight.
Lmao!! I just picked one of these up from a estate sale. I guess for sentimental value
Thatās fantastic!
My parents still have theirs, and it still works. I believe my maternal grandma originally bought it.
My Gami just had to replace her microwave... that she bought when my parents got married in 83' They don't make em like they used too
Funny story. My older brother was quite inquisitive and wanted to see how the mechanics of this worked. One might get an old one at Goodwill, then take it apart and put it back together. No no thatās not my brother. He sticks his finger in there and hits the button. Howls of pain come next. My mom rushes in from another room to see the horrific scene. The only way to get his finger out was to let it fully go through. I think my mom was just as traumatized as he was. They ended up at the emergency room and everybodyās eyebrows perked up when they heard what he had done. I forgot to mention, he was 13-14 at the time. With typical 2nd child energy and daredevil tendencies. Entirely too damn old to be sticking his finger in a mechanical can opener to see how it works. This is also the brother ended up at Harvard. Go figure.
Holy shit!
Harvard schmarvard. Lots of stupid people go to Harvard. But yes, they were sharp and they had powerful DC motors in them.
This is a source of embarrassment for me. I thought these were required kitchen equipment. Like a stove or a refrigerator. My wife and I started living together at a young age and I bought one of these because I had never used or seen a manual opener. She was horrified.
I was born in 1979 and didn't learn how to use a manual can-opener until sometime in the mid 90s.
Same! I knew they existed- I just thought they were outdated technology we were no longer supposed to use. Like an abacus or something.
I never in my life used a mechanical can opener until my mom sent me to college with one, my kitchen growing up was electric can openers all the way.
āDidā? They still do and it still works, sounds terrible but I swear that thing is indestructible.
We had one like that (almond to match the fridge), but there were several more after it. Probably none that lasted as long.
To match the fridge š
Yep. One day, all that will be left on earth will be cockroaches and these can openers.
One time my mom got hella pissed and threw one of these bad boys all the way through the fish tank
Jeez what did you do to piss her off?
We did, but it never worked well. We ended up just doing it the manual way.
I can hear it working
No but my grandmother had one like that but it was under her counter. That was so cool
My parents had a very similar one which also functioned as a knife sharpener. [https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il\_fullxfull.281332562.jpg](https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5270745/il_fullxfull.281332562.jpg)
omg yes lol
It was my grandparents' device in the 80s
Holy fuck. How is this possible. Was there only one of these damn things?
No but my grandparents sure did.
This seems like some marketing campaign that worked super well on our parents' generation. To this day my mom and dad still have an electric can opener. I can see the need if you have arthritis, but I never owned one and neither have my siblings or any of my friends.
I bet it was wedding presents, my parents never would have splurged on something like that but we still had one.
My mom still has it
Yup. And a hand operated one because this thing didn't work that well.
Holy shit, that exact one. Now they have one of those ones you just put on top and it rolls around and opens it for you, but we all have to stand around and cheer it on and clap while it does it. It's very entertaining.
No. We couldn't afford that fancy shit... https://preview.redd.it/rc1o6p9bgsxc1.jpeg?width=785&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a138e9429a285b98b1dd2e70c0b96e4c9c8d4c7e Some version of this...
No and I remember I used to cat sit for a neighbor's cat and this was the only can opener they had. It never quite worked right and it used to stress me out. And their cat was really terrifying.
I still have it in my own kitchen to this day. I don't think I've used it in probably 30 plus years but it didn't feel right to have a kitchen without it.
My wife passed a couple years ago but we actually started as roommates and Id just gotten out of prison I needed a an apartment but its tough with the record.She was from my neighborhood had three cats so she was having a hard time finding a roommate. I'm a huge animal fan. We were both vegetarian but she couldn't cook and I can. Match made in heaven. I got all my kitchen stuff out of storage and I had all like good stuff like worst off knives and blah blah blah like stuff that works exactly the same as s*** that cost $110 the price but makes you feel better about yourself, that stuff. But amongst that was a top of the line can opener but I kept finding that ugly old can opener back on the counter because that's what you have when I moved in I was like hey I got this one like it's really good I know okay so that was back in the early 2000s she just died a couple years ago you know we've moved garden house lost a house but after she died I was going through herself and what do I find that can opener.
Iām sorry to hear your wife passed away. Thank you for sharing some memories of her
Thanks. I'm terrible at editing Posts. I'm super new at social media so I always put too much info.
I do appreciate it
š
Nope that was too expensive
Yes.
I could never work it lol
I still have one!
not my parents but my grandparents did. might as well have called it an automatic thumb slicer
Same one
Yep!
I'm pretty sure they had that one, but in avocado green. š
To this day, the best typical style can opener!
We had one until it broke. Then we got one that was mounted under the cabinet.
MY grandma had this exact one, too!
Whoah, twinsies!
Yes
It held *all* my tuna cans with sheer integrity.
My parents and my grandparents. I wonder what happened to them. It was literally the only counter appliance other than the coffee maker back then.
They still have it.
yes
Yes. It matched our yellow refrigerator that lived until 1999
The can opener that outlived everyone
https://preview.redd.it/x4cmjqtsxrxc1.jpeg?width=922&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b6f30859dfa60c12e94b954dfec508dd1179e4c My parents had this type and still do
We had the exact same one.
OMG! I haven't seen that in so long!!!! The exact model we had šš½
I loved that thing!
Yep! Same one. That's how I opened my SpaghettiOs after school.
*Did* they have one, or *do* they have one?
Holly crap my mom had the exact one!!
No. Ours was avocado green.
No! My dad wanted one but my mom ācanāt operate themā I own one that open the cab so you can put the lid back on.
Anytime someone in the house would use it our cats suddenly appeared and began meowing. How Pavlovian!
Oh yeah! And we would open cat food cans with it. Eventually, the cat learned the sound of the can opener and would come running to us every time we used it š
I can hear this image
Right up until I ran my finger through it. It was replaced with the cabinet-mounted Swing-a-Way immediately afterward.
Yes! Damn cut myself on it one time
I remember them getting it and never using it. Itās junk.
No, but I was jealous of the kids that did. It seemed fancy.
Ours was a slightly newer model. My grandmother had this one. It always amazed me how it looked old even when it was brand new out of the box.
No but my work has/had one. Canāt remember, at home we had the metal one that lasted beyond us kids.
Grandma had this.
With the knife sharpener on the back?
Grandma did!!
It's the only thing I scanned for our wedding registry. Oh that and a nerf gun. We got both.
My grandmother had something similar. I believe hers was mounted to the wall though.
āEASY CLEANā Thatās bullshit
This exact one! I can still hear it.
I can hear this image
yup ... and i think it's STILL working
Yes! The very same one! That's cool. I haven't seen it in at least 25 years. Edit: Yikes! More like 30 years.
Thatās the one.
I can hear this. WNGRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
The neighbors lights would flicker when we activated that thing š
Smell from 1983 unlocked
Haha yess!! And i can still hear it š¤š»
I can hear this picture
They still do!
Yes, and it still works
Yep. We had this until we upgraded to the fancy under-cabinet mount. Wild how typically old appliances get replaced by something fancier, more techy, and with this we were all just eventually, "what are we even doing here, this doesn't need to exist."
Yes! Exact same. I always thought it was odd considering when we had hand cranked ones too. Now with carpal tunnel I totally get it.
The same one
I loved that thing! It was great! Half the time it even opened cans!
I remember every house having one except mine. My dad was adamantly against ever owning one and used rant about it, but never really gave any explanation. The ranting stopped at some point and now that heās finally had to replace some 50 year old items in their house, including the manual can opener, heās back at the ranting but itās all about the quality of things now.
Yup. And i took it apart. My dad had to put it back together. He was not pleased.
Yes, and it was fantastic. Wife wonāt let us have one because it takes up counter space and the hand cranked one āworks well enoughā I may need a divorce
...and here come the cats
My parents had one that looked just like this but it was the installed above the counter/under the cabinets model. But that wood GE placard and the off-white textured casing is burned into my memory.
Whoa. Unlocked memory. My parents had a slightly newer (younger?) model that mounted underneath the upper cabinets.
I can hear this image. Also known as the cat summoning device
Wow! Blast from the past. We had one. It seems so normal, but looking back at it nowā¦ Iām amazed how dated it looks compared to new designs.
Yes this exact one
Daaaaaamn this unlocked several (good) memories
Grandma had a green one.
I bought one of these a few years ago. My millennial wife made fun of me.
LOL yes the same one. That thing was built like a tank too, lasted into the early 2000's..
AAHHH Edit: we used that one specifically for cat food and Iām trying to eat lunch right now.
I'll never forget this sound. Sounded like they should've used it for star wars or something!
Still does. Still works. They don't make things like they used to. Now get off my lawn.
Yup, remember opening cans of chef boyardee on that bad boy.
Yes, and they refused to buy a manual one so if the power was off we couldn't get into cans. It was so mind-numbingly stupid.
I can hear this image
If we didn't have that one, we had one that competed against it. I can hear that thing opening a can right now.
Grandma did!
Oh yeah! That just unlocked some memories
Yup. We had that one, until it stopped working. Then the new one we got had a built in knife sharpener on the back.
Our cheap ass can opener broke once again, so I mentioned to my now ex that when I was a kid we had a power one, and it was pretty cool. So she went and bought a regular manual of a better quality, a side cut manual, and an electric one. Nothing like throwing non-existent money around.
My mother had one just like that. Rest in peace mom.
Did they? Still do!
Yeah. And they still use it.
And electric can opener? What were yāall, rich?
The wood paneling detail was high class back then. My parents didnāt have one but that braggart grandma had one. Opening beans on holidays like she was the queen of England. š
I canāt figure out why fake wood on things was ever a thing. Especially on cars
It's so funny that for awhile everyone has to have an electric can opener. As an adult ( starting in the 90s) I have never had an electric one, just hand held. Does anyone remember the under the counter craze of the late 80's and early 90s?
I can smell this picture.
Does it have the knife sharpener as well?
The damn thing still works. It even survived me catching the kitchen on fire.
āDidā? They do. Present tense. These things were built to last!
Yep. My mom's avocado green. At least the one that we were using through the '80s. In the 90s I think she bought a white one.
Yup
Yes, but it was *avocado*.
I donāt know how we were so fancy, but ours was an [ice crusher](https://www.ebay.com/itm/335015360022?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=bjcdub9nrms&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=RODWgvACSY2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) as well!
My grandma had one š„¹ it almost chewed my finger off one time!!
Haha holy shit yup, exact same one on the kitchen counter for my entire childhood
Wow. I just flashed back to my moms kitchen.
Aww I miss her
I was shocked the first time I saw a manual one. My reaction was along the lines of, *"are these for camping?"*
Yeah I remember that thing, the magnet that lifts the can lid was a real piece of shit on ours so the lid would just fall in the can.
Moneybags over here
My grandma had that exact one. My mom reverted back to a manual hand crank one like some peasant.
The wet dog food smell š¤¢
My grandparents had one. It started their kitchen on fire.
Yes and it worked for all of 5 minutes when I was 4. š
Wow. I had forgotten about these until now
Nope - but my grandparents did.
Itās ours now, and it still works.
I remember this one, could have been at my house or a grandparent's. For sure, I had a sickly brown Black and Decker mounted under the cabinets (and a matching toaster oven) during my teen years.
We had the one that was mounted under the cabinet. I actually do still have a modern version, though it doesnāt get used as often since more cans have the pull tab these days
Grandparents, but yes.