Originally Posted by Philatio
And for the record, aluminum does bend elastically before it "breaks" just not nearly as much as steel.
Actually, that's incorrect. Aluminum has no fatigue limit, which means, any deformation is plastic at least partially. Any deformation to an aluminum object will cause permanent changes in the crystal structure.
In titanium or steel, a small enough deformation can cause no permanent changes in the crystal structure. Of course, if you go over a certain limit, permanent changes will happen. That limit is the fatigue limit.