The Rocky Mountain News has a fascinating story here about the role of the old Adolph Coors Co. in creating the first seamless, recyclable aluminum beer can. It might sound a little dry, but that can — rolled out 50 years ago last week — was revolutionary. For one thing, it got Coors into recycling. For another, it got rid of the nasty aftertaste that beer picked up when it was packaged in tin-plated cans. From the story:

That can ultimately spelled the demise of the tin beverage can developed in the mid-1800s. Industry officials say the development of the Coors aluminum can forever changed the way people drink beer and other beverages.

It also opened a new market for sheet aluminum and, eventually, for aluminum recycling.

The old tin-plated steel cans were littering the American landscape when Coors introduced the aluminum can. Because scrap steel was so cheap, there was little incentive for folks to recycle steel. But not so with aluminum, which was cheaper to recycle than to create from scratch. Hence, the impetus to reuse beer cans, which continues to this day. Cheers to our friends at Coors.