"The aerosol industry," a trade magazine called Aerosol Age observed, "is a remarkable example of the effect of free enterprise and American ingenuity. Rarely has a more disorganized, sprawling, confused, disjointed, widely divergent, unplanned and unguided development program ever been set in motion ... yet this illegitimate wedding of the refrigeration business and the tin can industry has grown from eight million dollars in 1947 to almost 250 million dollars eight years later."

Aside from a few oddities the buying public resoundingly rejected, like aerosol soft drinks and dual purpose toothpaste/shaving cream, everything sold well in aerosol cans: oven cleaner, hairspray, car wax, shoe polish, cologne, spot remover, deodorant, diaper freshener, hand lotion, lens cleaner, allergy spray and rust-inhibitor.

Along the way there was a change in terminology. " 'Bomb' tends to be associated with dangerous, explosive articles," an article in Aerosol Age pointed out in 1956. " 'Push-button' implies everything modern, and people like the idea." The column encouraged those in the aerosol trade to "pick up the telephone now and call your local newspaper" about doing a story on 'The Push-Button Age.' "