Some of my favorite things to write about are the small ones. Not foldables, not AI models, just a nine-dollar gadget that solves a problem you've grumbled about for years. That's what this little can opener from Amazon is doing right now. Shoppers are calling it a "game-changer," a word I usually side-eye but occasionally earn.

If you're my age, you remember the can openers of old. The rusty butterfly kind that pinched your fingers, the wall-mounted ones that somehow cut everything except the can, the electric one your mother had that sounded like a small chainsaw. I have, in my own kitchen history, shed actual blood in the name of a can of tomatoes. So when something comes along at nine dollars and people say it works, I pay attention.

What the reviews say, at least according to the coverage, is that shoppers find it easier to use than the manual openers they grew up fighting with. I'll admit I haven't laid hands on this particular one yet, and the write-ups don't get into the nitty-gritty of how it operates, so I won't pretend to describe it. What I will say is that "easier than the old squeeze-and-twist routine" is a low bar that a shocking number of can openers still fail to clear.

And grip strength, in my entirely personal opinion, is not a small thing. My sister has struggled with her hands for years, and I've watched her hand a can of soup to whoever's nearest like it's a chore. Whether this specific opener would help her I can't promise, that would take actually testing it. But an inexpensive tool that takes some of that struggle out of the equation? Worth more than a lot of the fancy gear I cover.

At nine dollars, the math is simple. This isn't an heirloom kitchen tool, and it doesn't need to be. It's an inexpensive convenience, and if it turns out not to be your favorite thing in the drawer, you're out about the cost of a sandwich.

My regular advice applies double here: technology, even the humble kitchen kind, should work for you. If the can opener is the hardest-working villain in your kitchen drawer, this is a cheap thing to try. I've told my family about worse ideas.