Triple threat: those cheap a$$ spray bottles, kiddieproof caps on other bottles, and can openers tha

I can't help you with the first two, but I have a great suggestion for the can opener. Mine just recently quit--after more than 10 years!--and I replaced it with the identical (well, the upgraded identical) one: Hamilton Beach can opener. This sucker is so easy to use it's ridiculous! My mom easily used the previous one without issue, no failures at all, it just always works effortlessly. It does just what you want, takes the entire lid off with no sharp edges. Once you snap the can into place, just let go and it works on its own. Once it's stopped, the can just hangs there until you release the lock--it never drops or spills or anything. I love mine!

 

I hate modern packaging.
Even cans that have pull tab tops- the tab just comes off and leaves an unopened can, often with the seal broken so that it makes a mess when I have to open it with something else.

'Child - Proof' is nothing of the sort- human proof is more like it.
Of course, that is not true for 'child-proof' lighters, that a three year old with one hand and two broken fingers could light.

I gave up long ago on those can openers that cut the top off like you mention, because they do not last.
I have never found one that was well built or repairable.

The electric ones are ok if you can afford them, but they always seem to make as big a mess as if I had opened the can with the claw end of a hammer- at least when I use them.

The only one that lasts a few years is the old fashioned type that has a bottle opener on one end, a juice can opener on the other, and a butterfly handle that turns a gear wheel so that the can spins under the blade.
Even when dull, you can still open a can with enough effort.

But the very best, most long lasting can opener?
The P-38 Military issue.
Never fails.
Lasts basically forever (til you loose it or it gets stolen), and it can be sharpened.

If you want to open cans, by far the best for at home is an 'industrial type'.
This is what restaurants use to open ten 5 lbs cans of tomatoes in 5 minutes.

the 'butterfly' (my name for it)


the P-38 (great for camping!)


the industrial

 

As for your other horrid packaging, a strap wrench and/or a chain wrench can work wonders.

If you are not good with tools, then look online for things that feeble and elderly use to open stuff with.
Arthritis is a bitch, and twisting power is one of the first things to go.

For a spray bottle, go to a Tractor Supply, Big R, Rural King, Farm And Fleet, or other farm supply store.
Spend the extra money and get one that is able to spray chemicals (it won't break down as easy).
A large capacity (~1 quart) 'horse sprayer' is what I use at work to find leaks in tires and to degrease engines.
The degreaser that we use is quite caustic. It is supposed to be diluted, but we use it straight. It destroys spray bottles quickly.
Mine is a horse sprayer, and one other guy has a Zep Cleaner spray bottle.
Everyone else uses junk that gets eaten up by the degreaser.

 

My horse sprayer is 1 quart capacity- 32oz.

Not too big, but large enough to degrease an engine if it was full to begin with.

I paid less than $10 for it, and it is chemical resistant.
I have had it for years, and only recently did an ape at work break the trigger on accident. (It fell onto the concrete floor from about 4 ft and the bottle was full.)

I bought a new trigger head from an Army Surplus store and it is working fine.

As for the sharp edges on the P-38, put a key ring through the hole.
Don't put keys on it.
The ring gives just enough leverage to nake it much easier to use.

You can try to sharpen an old one, but just get new.
They only cost a buck or two for a few of them.
Army surplus stores used to sell them for a quarter or 50¢ each.
If you are careful with them they last for many years.
Don't put one in your pocket. The hook opens, and catches the inside of the pocket.

For tge photos, I did a quick web search for what I wanted (with another browser, while this one was still open) downloaded the photos, then came back to this browser and uploaded them.
I made sure to select 'full image' before I posted.

 

Really, if any restaurants are going out of business, try to buy the can opener.

Industrial can openers are amazing.

No batteries, no power, fast as heck, and able to open any size can.

 

The one I linked to definitely lasts! As noted the one it replaced was over 10 years old--I'm not sure any more if I brought that with me from Dallas, which would mean it was more than 15 years old, or if I bought it here. It's in pictures coincidentally taken in the kitchen 10+ years ago, so it was at least that old. It never failed, not once--it just worked perfectly and with zero effort. As does its replacement. On Amazon, it's 5-star rated, and deservedly so.

BTW, I DETEST those horrible 'child-proof' or 'tamper-proof' tops. I've been brought to tears trying to get something open that I needed right then, but could not get open, and no one else was around to help. At CVS, they continually put my meds in child-proof bottles--despite my explicit choice in my account NOT TO. I've called and spoken to the pharmacy manager more times than I can remember; they always assure me that they've made it REALLY noticeable and it won't happen again, blah blah blah. Guess what? It happens again!!

 

It's worth its price. Definitely.

When you're in the thread, at the very top of it there's a 'settings' wheel; hover over that and you'll see a 'thread tools' menu--the first choice is 'edit title.'

 

Mine do. I just slide them in vertically, and they fit fine.

Oh, I use your knife method for those damned tops that cannot be opened otherwise.

You know, I'm all for safety and everything, but good grief! Safe from children is one thing, impossible for adults to open without crying and/or throwing things is insane!

 

Uggh, those blasted foil covers!

Motor oil, ketchup, mustard, aspirin, everything has them now!

I have resorted to punching through them with my knuckle (take careful aim, it hurts to miss!) and then pulling the crap out and off.

 

Just wondering, how many others--besides me--have wondered if they even had a human TEST the damned things before going to market? Really, not just *a* human, but a young human, middle-aged human, elderly human, and disabled human. If any of them end up in tears--or reaching for a sharp knife--it's time to rethink the design!

 

Exactly! It worked fine for many, many years.... But then along came the Tylenol scandal. Remember that? Even though that incident turned out to be a deliberate act related to a murder, it started this whole 'child-proof' cap thing.

Again, I'm not against safety by any means. But ridiculous is ridiculous! When a grown adult shouts obscenities and bursts into tears trying to get a bottle of prescription pain medication open, THAT is ridiculous.

 

@MoodyBlues , I know you are right about that Tylenol thing.

I was about to mention it, then read your post.

Not just the child-proof tops, but also the foil seals on everything as well.

I actually have been in enough pain and aggrevated enough that I just stomped the damn bottle and got what I needed off of the floor.

Things like this make me despise engineers.

These people make their living by making life more difficult for others.

Ever so much as change the oil in a Mini-Cooper?
Ridiculous.
And there are even worse than that.

Anyone that decides to make the single most important, most frequent, and what should be the easiest auto maintanence to purposely be difficult should be kicked repeatedly.

 

This is the BACK of the engine.
The filter housing is at the end of the socket on the end of the extention.



(picture from online)

oil filter canister circled

 

I've been using a flat-head screwdriver for that for decades! No need to even move it. Just stick the tip under the lid--randomly, anywhere--and pull forward. Pop!