What do you get when you combine hundreds of engineers, a charitable mindset and about a zillion aluminum cans?

You get Canstruction. Each year, major cities across the U.S. raise awareness about hunger by hosting building competitions, which are then deconstructed and distributed to local food pantries and day care and senior centers.

Since 1992, Canstruction has donated ten million pounds of canned food to organizations, and one hundred more competitions are scheduled for this year.

The designs range from an octopus to bowling pins to a lotus blossom, each carefully designed and meticulously constructed. And if you think the hot dog and condiments are cool, check out the gallery for more food-inspired designs.

Pepsi is reworking their image and giving the look of their brand a total overhaul. The plan features a "360-degree marketing campaign", but the first thing that most consumers will notice is that their cans will look very different than before. Starting next month, the company will begin using more dramatic designs on their cans, bottles and branded cups and will be rotating the designs every few weeks to "reflect themes close to the hearts of teens and young adults." The theory is that younger consumers will be more interested in something more visually stimulating than their current design and that if there is a sports or music-themed can, a music fan might be more likely to purchase it. The logo itself will not change, but since Pepsi has only changed their can design 10 times in the 109 year history of the company, this new plan is quite a departure from tradition.

Also in pursuit of the drinking loyalties of the "millennial generation," the company will be running more contests, games and sweepstakes and will be sinking more money into merchandising (did you know that you can buy a Pepsi dress?) and advertising. Different contests and prize-winning opportunities will be associated with the different Pepsi products, giving consumers "different experience each time they buy a Pepsi" and "a passport to the things they enjoy most." Oh, and they'll be getting Pepsi, too.

Unless you are planning on serving roasted pumpkin or squash where you really need the whole vegetable, the best way to use it in a recipe is by using canned pumpkin. This isn't necessarily to say that you will never get good results by using fresh for a cake or a pie, but there is a reason that chefs and cookbook authors tend to stick to canned. It is reliable in its flavor, consistency and texture, unlike fresh squash, which can be stringy, too wet or too dry.

The time needed to prepare fresh pumpkin is also substantial, since it must be cut, peeled and cooked before using, while canned is ready in seconds. To a really determined cook, the time needed for preparation would not be an issue if the flavor were so much better that it was worth the effort, but it is often the case that the canned pumpkin will have a stronger, better flavor. For some recipes that use canned pumpkin, try:

• Pumpkin Bread
• Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Bourbon-Walnut Glaze
• Spicy Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins
• Ginger-Pumpkin Bread Pudding
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Bread
• Pumpkin Hummus

Joystiq doesn't usually tackle food pieces, but when they involve Super Mario, they are willing to make an exception. Nintendo Canada and a group called Canstruction got together and built a giant Mario out of canned goods in honor of the new Super Mario Bros game becoming the fastest-selling game in the country. In total, 4,000 cans were used and the 10-foot tall Mario weighed over 2,600 lbs. Judging from the other photos, the foods used included canned ham and chicken, as well as bags of popcorn for the mustache and eyebrows. All the cans (and presumably the popcorn, as well) are being donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank when Mario is deconstructed.

Too bad they didn't do Mario Batali, the other super Mario, while they were at it!

A vocational therapy center in Japan is now producing a variety of canned breads intended to be used as emergency rations. Each can contains two 50 gram loaves of bread that supposedly stay fresh for up to three years without preservatives, according to Asahi.com. Pan Desuyo! (which translates to "This is bread!") is available in chocolate chip, raisin and fruit, and a blend of coffee, fruit and nuts. The cans sell for around $3. For many of us, the idea of canned bread probably conjures images of B&M's canned brown bread. Having tasted neither product, I can only say that Pan Desuyo! looks far more appetizing.

[Via Boing Boing]

Wolfgang Puck Self-Heating Latte cans are currently being pulled from shelves after reports of the cans leaking chemicals into the coffee or exploding, according to a recent story from beverage industry publication BevNET. The BevNET story recounts a blame game between licensees, the can's manufacturers, distributors and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. The latter apparently requested that the cans be pulled after repeated customer complaints and supposed scrutiny from the FDA. The cans were originally released last spring. Some complaints included reports of a white substance, perhaps the calcium oxide used in the can's heating system, floating in the coffee. A Las Vegas woman also claims she was badly burned by a malfunctioning can that exploded. The cans supposedly heat their contents to 140 degrees. According to BevNET, the company that designed the cans marketed them with the slogan "It does what?"

[Photo: BevNET]

Starbucks has a canned espresso drink called the DoubleShot, which is a sweetened blend of cream and espresso. There is also a coffee shop and roastery in Tulsa, Oklahoma called the DoubleShot Coffee Company. Starbucks is suing the midwestern coffee company for trademark violations over the use of the name "doubleshot."

According to the blog Whiskey Wednesday, which has spoken with the owner of the DoubleShot Coffee Co., Starbucks trademarked the term back in 2001, around the time of the release of their canned beverage. Their lawyers have advised the roastery to desist from using the name, but the owner of the Tulsa-based shop stands firm behind his use of the term, explaining "Doubleshot is a generic industry term for two shots of espresso. They have no exclusive rights to it." If the case goes forward, a judge will end up deciding who, if anyone, has the rights to the term.