Tin cans, tin foil, the Ford Model T (or Tin-Lizzie) all have something in common, other than tin. No one uses them anymore. You may still find the occasion tin can or piece of foil in a basement or kitchen pantry; you could even find a restored Model T, but these things are antiques, gone the way of the dinosaur. While this may seem to mean that this rather innocuous metal has departed from our daily lives and is a relic of another generation, the truth is quite the opposite.