Taking trips down memory lane has always been a favorite pastime of mine. I love looking at old pictures, and seeing not only how I have grown, but also how technology and fashion have changed. I sometimes forget just how much times have changed until a memory creeps back to me by way of an old photograph.

Thanks to social media sites, we can now share old photos all over the internet. And people do—that’s why we have common hashtags like “Throwback Thursday” and “Flashback Friday.” Sites like Do You Remember? have popularized looking at old places, movies, music, and people, some of which were otherwise long forgotten.

But not all of these memories are easy to recall. Take this tool for example, what was it used for? Or is it actually part of a toy? What useful purpose did it serve, if any?

It looks a bit like a knife, so it’s probably not a toy. But the handle and shape of the item make it an unusual tool. Perhaps it was used for cooking or gardening.

It may be difficult to tell, but this device was created to open cans of oil. The sharp point cuts through the oil can making a triangular opening, allowing oil to pour free.

While it’s hard to imagine a use for an oil can opener today, spouts like this one were used to open sheet metal turbine engine oil cans. They were practical tools that offered a simple solution to a problem.

Surprisingly, this spout dates back only to the 1980’s. How many people who were alive in the 1980’s ever used an oil can spout? It makes me wonder what vintage tools I’ve used in my life that are now considered outdated.

These days, we can’t imagine having something like this lying around. Technology has advanced to the point where we have electric wine bottle openers and we can order anything online and have it delivered right to our doors.

Most of us don’t have cans of oil in our homes, but what if we did? We would still find something like this useful?

Watch the video below for more on the mysterious oil spout.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFCRpLPq-us]

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