Foiled Again

The emergence of tin as a viable metal dates back to about 3500 B.C. with the discovery of bronze, an alloy of tin and copper. Skipping ahead about a “bazillion” years, pure tin became more widespread, leading to the eventual invention of tin foil. Hammering tin into thin sheets started in the late 18th century. By the mid-19th century, tin foil was commercially produced and used as a wrapping material. One major concern for foods wrapped in tin foil was the 'tin taste" that was sometimes present. The early uses of tin foil were not limited to food preservation. Due to its reflective properties, it was also utilized in various scientific experiments and early photography.

A shift from tin to aluminum started due to aluminum's non-corrosive properties, lower cost, and better performance. The breakthrough moment was in 1910 when the first aluminium foil rolling plant, Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie, was opened in Emmishofen, Switzerland. In 1911, Bern-based Tobler began wrapping its chocolate bars in aluminium foil, including the unique triangular chocolate bar, Toblerone. The first use of foil in the United States was in 1913 for wrapping Life Savers, candy bars, and gum.

Reynolds Metals Company—acquired by Alcoa in 2000—has a long history in the aluminum industry, dating back to Richard S. Reynolds, who founded the U.S. Foil Company in 1919 in Louisville, Kentucky. Initially, the company produced tin foil for cigarette packaging, but it switched to aluminum foil in the 1920s when the price of aluminum dropped. In 1926, Reynolds began using aluminum foil as a packaging material for the first time. The company expanded into various aluminum products, including aluminum siding, which it pioneered in 1945.

Note: Aluminum Foil is shiny on one side when two sheets of aluminum foil are passed through the rollers during the final rolling process. The side in contact with the highly polished steel rollers results in a shiny surface, while the other side produces a matte finish. Despite the "old wives tales," it makes no difference whether you wrap or cover food while baking with the shiny side up. Today, approximately three-quarters of aluminum foil is used for packaging of foods, cosmetics, and chemical products, and the remaining quarter is used for industrial applications such as thermal insulation and electrical cables.

The above advertisement is from the early 1950s

Taking Mom Out Of The Kitchen

Swedish immigrant, Carl A. Swanson (1879–1949) was working in a grocery store in Omaha when he came into contact with John O. Jerpe, owner of a small commission company. Their partnership helped local farmers sell their products to distributors and offer a commission to the farmers. Swanson would eventually buy the company from Jerpe and rename it, C. A. Swanson and Sons. After Swanson's death, the sons took control of the business, and by 1950, the brothers began manufacturing frozen oven-ready chicken and turkey pot pies in aluminum trays that could be heated in a conventional oven. Swanson executive Gerry Thomas visited a company that specialized in food for airlines. His suggestion was to create an aluminum tray with three compartments: one for frozen turkey slices and the other two for side dishes. In the early days, the peas could get slightly burned and shriveled. The beef was more in the jerky category. All with a dash of metal flavor. With increasing numbers of televisions sold, Swanson decided to call their meals "TV Dinners," first sold in 1953. Others followed the trend, most notably Banquet and Morton. One year later Swanson sold over 10,000,000 frozen dinners, which in turn led to a boom in the manufacture of folding "TV Trays," eliminating the annoying thigh burns. 

The Streamliners Efficient Friend

 

The Alcoa Corporation touted it use of aluminum incorporated in the railroad's Streamliner passenger trains of the 1930s. The integrated-body-and-frame construction using aluminum and Cor-Ten steel was used to reduce the required structural weight to a fraction of conventional railcars. Outwardly, stainless steel was the dominant material, however, typically left unpainted except for the car's reporting marks required by law. In general, the above-illustrated advertisement exaggerates the typical length of these trains.

Burlington and Union Pacific railroads sought to increase the efficiency of their passenger service and looked to the lightweight, petroleum-powered technology offered by Budd and Pullman-Standard. Union Pacific's project was named the M-10000 (top, above) and Burlington's was named the Burlington Zephyr (top, bottom). The M-10000 was the star attraction at the 1934 World's Fair "Century of Progress" in Chicago, Illinois. It was officially named The Streamliner during its demonstration period. With nearly a million miles on its engine, the trainset was scrapped in 1942 and its aluminum recycled for use in the wartime aircraft industry.

Note: Founded in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Alcoa Corporation (a portmanteau of Aluminum Company of America) is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum.