h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Nice article ffmike.

Some modern-day tins are made out of aluminium.

One of the more boring jobs in the world is running the printing press which prints the code numbers on tins.

It is right up there with attaching glue to stamps.

Have you actually run such a press? I've done some work with small offset presses, and watched with wonder as the magazine I was editing was run off on a medium sized web press, but it's all been paper-based.

I haven't actually been at the controls myself. I was the guy, supposedly working in another department, who had sneaked out the back to have a cigarette while chatting to his mate, the press' operator.