See below, re. the can not being crushed if it had been opened.

@Jnei Looking at that photo I do not see any evidence of a can that has been opened, do you?

@ASTRALMAX See also the below post re. the angle of the can and how it might not be possible to see if it had been opened.

Secondly, I'd guess an unopened can filled with something such as a meat product containing a lot of water might in fact be able to withstand quite high pressure. Whether something such as a can of Spam could withstand the pressure almost 5000m deep in the ocean, I have no idea - and can't find any information online to make me better informed. For that reason, I'm entirely unable to say whether an unopened can of Spam at that depth would be crushed or not.

I have faith that the young are going to sort it out - if it's not too late!

Not if it's been opened and the contents removed - pressure on the inside would then be equal to the pressure on the outside.

Maybe it was an open one, then the presure would stay the same inside and out.

@Jnei I don't eat Spam or green eggs and ham for that matter but I thought you had to use a can opener to get to the goo inside and I don't see any marks from a can opener. Maybe it comes in a pull top now?

@Surfpirate I've never eaten it, but I think it comes with a little key to open it like tinned corned beef does. If one were to open it that way, the entire top is removed and would be obvious in the photograph. However, back in the days when I ate corned beef (25+ years ago), I remember that the key was sometimes missing or, mostly due to my remarkable inability to open any packaging that's supposed to be easy to open, it wouldn't work. So instead, I'd use a standard tin-opener which used a blade to cut through the metal on the top inside the sealed lip - in which case, from this angle, it wouldn't be possible to see that it had been opened.

@creative51 bingo!

@Jnei Perhaps if it was merely punctured with a small hole that is out of view then it might not be crushed.

@ASTRALMAX Or, indeed, if the top has been removed with a can opener such as this one, which cuts through the metal inside the seal rather than the sides of the can, in which case it wouldn't be possible to see the opening: [alexnld.com]

@Jnei At that depth the pressure would probably exceed 2,485 pounds per square inch. The maths and physics geniuses can correct this if incorrect.

@ASTRALMAX I'm hoping such a wizard will see this post, do the sums and answer the question for us because I want to know now!

@Jnei The pressure increases about one atmosphere ( 14.69 LBS) for every 10 meters of water depth. At a depth of 5,000 meters the pressure will be approximately 500 atmospheres or 500 times greater than the pressure at sea level. 5000 M = 16404 ft. 5000M ÷ 10M = 500 (ATM) X 14.69 = 7345 LBS of pressure!

@ASTRALMAX Indeed; what we really need to know here is how much pressure a sealed can filled with Spam (which I imagine is mostly water) can withstand. I'm not sure if anyone has researched this - but I'm up for applying for a grant if you are!

@Jnei Excellent idea! I'm sure that with a good sales pitch we might secure RD funds..LOL We could feed them the line that we are seriously interested in manufacturing a can that is almost indestructible!

@ASTRALMAX I'm guessing you probably have some experience of the academic world and know the drill... so we make a pitch, get the cash, don't spend a penny on the project and blow the rest on alcohol, right?

@Jnei I'm not a scientist but for period of ten years I worked with academic scientists some of whom were engaged in postdoctral research and and they were pioneers in stem-cell research.

@Jnei I am partial to a glass of champagne once in a while...

@ASTRALMAX I learned the same thing in school science. Then I learned it again when I took scuba lessons. Good response

@ASTRALMAX I'd be partial to a glass of champagne several times daily, if I could afford it.

@Jnei Sounds more like a bottle...LOL

@ASTRALMAX Hmm. I wonder how much pressure bottles of champagne can withstand? Specifically, how much pressure can they stand when the contents have been consumed to varying degrees? Someone needs to do the science - and I'm pretty damn sure it should be us.

@Jnei I would not wonder too much about the pressure that a bottle of champagne can withstand at the bottom of the Mariana Trench because I can assure that were I to toss the bottle overboard it would be empty...LOL

@ASTRALMAX I like your thinking. I'll email Krug and see if they'll send us a few cases for preliminary testing!

@Jnei They can only say no..LOL

@ASTRALMAX Suppose we're going to need an ocean-going yacht too. Maybe some method of surveying any bottles that don't immediately sink too - might as well see if Gulfstream will give us a G650.

@Jnei Yes and during diving expeditions if we should see any bottles slowly sinking towards the seabed we will endeavour to rescue them and avoid seabed pollution. Such rescued bottles will be imbibed as a reward...LOL

@ASTRALMAX Probably need some sort of submarine for that. As British tax payers, I'm sure the Royal Navy will give us a Vanguard class, if we word the request right. I quite like the idea of being able to lob a couple of Tridents at anyone who annoys me, too.

@Jnei Well, just as long as you don't lob any unopened bottles of champagne at them...LOL

@ASTRALMAX I'm not sure even I could hate someone enough to waste an unopened bottle of champagne on them!

@Jnei Done properly you could off someone with a decent bottle of champagne, they are very sturdy vessels but I don't think you would want to chance it unless you had true homicidal intent. You could have celebratory drink after the deed was done, after all, these things shouldn't be taken lightly.

The best thing to do - as I'm sure you already know, but some others might not - is avoid using it. When shopping, if I have a choice between two similar products I choose the one that is packaged in least plastic, even if it costs a little more. The first time I find a new item that avoids using plastic, I email the company that makes it and thank them.

@Jnei Good thinking.

@CeliaVL Another benefit of this is sometimes, when you email a company to thank them for their ethical production methods, they send you free stuff. I once emailed the manufacturer of a brand of rather expensive muesli which is produced from ethically-sourced ingredients and packaged in recycled cardboard and they sent me 24 boxes for free!

@Jnei I recycle all of my plastic.

@Themyt1 Good! I'm fortunate to live in an area where the plastic I do use can be recycled, too.

burning plastic would create toxic fumes.

@Qualia I on;ly burn a small amount that can't be recycled.

@CeliaVL I'm just saying. You don't want to be around that.