RE: Cure for Short-term Depression

So after reading Glamdring's challenge below, I decided to find out just how hard it is to break one of these cans by doing some field research. No, not on my own head. But before any of you go off and lose some brain cells, consider this:

Presented here are my experimental results for crushing an aluminum can. You can clearly see a point at which the can crumples and loses the majority of its strength. Once this initial barrier is overcome, finishing off the can is child's play. So how much force do you need to exert on the can to crush it? Well, 0.876 ksi (or 876 pounds per square inch) of pressure is the maximum strength of the can in question. With a can radius of 1.3" and wall thickness of 0.02" (arbitrary value, can someone find me a real number?), that comes out to 143 lbs of force you need to apply in order to crush an aluminum can. If you can do that with your head, you probably don't have depression.

"But Seraph, that's only if you hit an intact can straight-on without using your hands to help!" Well, isn't that the point? Sure, using your hands to squeeze the can greatly decreases the strength of the can greatly -- these things are built to withstand vertical force, not horizontal. But you know what we call that in most circles? Fighting a handicapped opponent at best, cheating at worst. Go find a better way to massage your low self-esteem.

Seraph out.