the many uses of the humble tin can





















improvisation was the key to providing us many hours of childhood fun and game. in our kampong days, the humble tin can was used as a carrier; a set of two tin cans became a communication tool; a pair of tin cans served as walking aids; a sealed can with bits of stones inside was used in playing a hide-and-seek game and a opened can could also be used as a cover for exploding fire-crackers.

in those bygone days, the coffee-shop 'ah kor' did not have polythene bags to 'tar pau' hot or cold drinks. instead, for hot beverages, the used tin can served as a carrier. the top of the tin can was not totally removed and it had a hole punctured in the middle. a loop of straw-like string was inserted through the hole from the inside. to make sure that this top cover did not give way, the side of the can was squeezed to prevent the cover from opening and the content of hot coffee or whatever from spilling.

as children, we carried out our own science experiment in our own backyard (or frontyard) using a length of string and two tin cans. a small hole was made at the bottom of each tin can, of which the top had been removed. the length of string was passed through the hole of each tin, with the ends secured with a big knot. to communicate, we pulled the line taut and spoke into the tin. the recipient of the message would hold the other tin close to his ear.

these days, some schools in singapore have been trying to revive this pastime of ours and labelled it as a traditional game. instead of walking on stilts, we used on walk on tin cans with a string attached to each can to provide the necessary support and balance. wonder how we were able to endure the discomfort of walking with the cans on our bare feet. to make it more exciting we even competed to see who could reach a certain point first while walking on the cans.

another game which i vaguely remember playing was played with a sealed can which had pieces of stones inside. the stones were meant to make a noise when the can was shaken before it was hurled far from the base. whoever was 'it' would have to close his eyes while the can was being thrown. while this was going on, the rest of the players, including the thrower, would scatter and hide themselves.

after a regulation number of count, i think it was ten, he would have to go and retrieve the can. if he spied one of the players, he would have to shout out his name while rattling the tin-can and making his way back to the base. he had to reach the base before the person whose name he had called, otherwise he would have to be 'it' again.

we also used the tin to mute the sound of an exploding cracker by covering it and then to observe the explosive power of the cracker - to see how high it could toss the tin can into the air.

while writing this blog, i happened to read chun see's entries under kampong days and the accompanying comments. i realised then that we enjoyed a lot of similar experiences in those kampong days.