Serving Size: 1 Can Trivia Quiz

Answer: Use it for home composting

Set up your own home composting wormery. Take one can of worms, place them into the wormery container, feed with compostable materials, and collect organic compost out of the other end of the device. All this does is mimic what worms do naturally in your garden, but there is a knack to creating a successful worm colony.

The worm population will double every two to three months, and it is important not to overfeed or you will kill them. The odd gourmet treat can be added; for worms these are nettles, liquid seaweed and the occasional handful of garden soil.

Answer: Bees

Sending bees through the post is not new; bee breeders have exchanged queens this way for some time. This takes the concept to a higher level, though. You get a starter bee hive, some food to keep the bees going until they can forage nectar for themselves, and a can with a small colony of starter bees. Masons bees have proved the best for this. Once set up, it is then up to you to provide the conditions for the bees to thrive and expand into full size hives, and, hopefully, give you pounds of lovely honey.

Answer: Silly String

Silly string is one of the best-known nonfood canned items. Coming in aerosol form, you spray the liquid and it turns into a solid. You can use it to decorate Christmas trees and other things, or just spray it at people. It comes in bright neon colours and is a favourite with children at parties. Do be careful not to spray it across a naked flame, such as a candle, though as it catches fire quite easily.

Answer: Knickers

In fact a whole range of clothing now comes canned. As well as both male and female underwear there are T. shirts, shirts, and a spray on fabric that, when dry, mimics clothing. This also has potential medical uses as mattress covers, replacements for heavy plaster casts, and lightweight dressings for burns and other wounds. With two or three small cans in your handbag you need never again be stuck for a change of clothing. You can also get shoes in a bag, which are a pair of soft, fold-up, flat shoes for those aching, high heel feet moments.

Answer: Oxygen

Whilst canned oxygen has been around for a while, the newer ranges that sell as 'luxury oxygen' come with a whole variety of aromas. Why settle for ordinary oxygen when you can smell pine forests or eucalyptus groves? These items do, of course, attract sales tax, proving that they have managed to find a way to tax the air you breathe.

Answer: Air conditioner

Invented by the Japanese, canned air conditioner is supposed to instantly cool you down. Just spray directly onto your clothing in any hot and sticky situation. It doesn't replace deodorant, though you might be cooler, but it doesn't stop odours. Quite what the mix of chemicals does to your clothing is not clear. Also smokers should be aware that having a cigarette whilst spraying ethanol is not a good idea.

Answer: Stove in a can

When you take to the wilderness don't forget your stove in a can. It comes complete with fuel blocks and will give you cooking facilities for a few days while you find your hideaway. This would also come in handy for one day hiking trips, overnight camping out or emergency home cooking during power cuts. A can is certainly easier to get into a backpack than a full-scale camping stove.

Answer: Tyre inflator

A puncture at 2am on a deserted road with no mobile phone signal is a driver's nightmare scenario. Canned tyre inflators will not only blow up the flat tyre, they also contain compounds that seal the puncture so you can get home or to the nearest service station. Possibly the one unusual item in a can that everyone should have somewhere in their car.

Answer: New Book Smell

Readers of e.books have been known to say they miss the smell and feel of a real book. Well, you can now buy an aerosol can of 'New Book Smell' that comes in a variety of aromas. Spray it around when you pick up the e.book reader and you will instantly think you are reading a real book, or so the manufacturers claim.

As well as 'Classic Musty' it comes in 'Crispy Bacon' and 'Eeuw, You Have Cats' aromas.

Answer: Bear deterrent

If you are hiking or camping in areas where there are known to be bears, then a can of bear deterrent is a very good idea. It doesn't replace taking all the normal precautions, but is intended to be sprayed at the bear in an emergency situation. Hopefully you will never be in the position of having to know whether or not it works.