U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for January 19

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 19: TIN CAN INVENTED

Profile America —Thursday, January 19th.  Being able to store food and distribute it before it spoiled became a lot easier in the young United States on this date in 1825.  That's when Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett were granted a patent for the tin can.  Heating and sealing food in glass jars had started a few years before in France, and the British Royal Navy was being supplied with canned food by 1820.  Even though today frozen foods, plastic containers and concentrates are widely available, canned foods are still popular, including soups and canned tomato sauce.  In fact, it takes more than 19,000 people to make all the tin cans we use each year, worth more than $13.5 billion.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2012, p. 92
2007 Economic Census, NAICS 332431

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau