July 12, 1870

On July 12, 1870, William W. Lyman of Meriden, Connecticut patented the first rotating wheel can-opener. At his death on November 15, 1891, Fluffy, his large calico cat gave the eulogy. Fluffy explained how Provider of the Moist Food, which is what he called Lyman, would be eternally canonized by the cat-faithful and how human’s shoes would forever be used as a receptacle for cat-vomit and hairballs in his honor. Ranger, his dog, just said that Lyman liked to throw the stick. Which was high praise for a dog.

About Joel Byers

Born in North Georgia and educated at some very fine public institutions. Real education started after graduating from college and then getting married and raising two boys. Has the ability to see the funny and absurd in most things and will always remark on it, even if it means getting the stink-eye from his victims.
This entry was posted in 19th Century, Historical Facts and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *