There’s nothing quite like the pop and fizz of a freshly-opened can of soda on a hot day. Americans have been popping sodas with the practical metal pull tab since the 1960s, with many a broken fingernail or roughed-up fingertip attesting to the tab’s seriousness in keeping its contents fully carbonated until its consumption. But did you know that there’s actually a far better way to open your soda can without using your fingers, that was unintentionally built into the design?
Grab your favorite soda can (and there are so many sodas to choose from) and turn it gently upside down (we don’t need your soda fizzing out wildly when you open it). You’ll notice a circular indent on the bottom, which you’ve probably found quite useful when carrying one can on top of another in one hand. This ringed indent was built into the design of the soft drink cans to help contain the pressure of the carbonated drink as well as make for practical stacking when transporting them and for stashing in your pantry.
But stack one can on top of another, tilt your top can to the opposite side of where your bottom can’s tab is, and voila. You have one of the coolest soda can-openings you’ve ever come across that’s saved many beautifully manicured fingernails since this hack went viral.
The soda can-opening hack that saved fingernails across the world
Soda cans were designed in a cylindrical shape, which made them the quickest way to manufacture them (about 15,000 cans per second), used the least amount of metal when pressing each can, and made them easy to drink from. Before the 1960s, cans were designed with flat, solid tops and needed a special opener to punch a hole in one side of the top to drink from, and a smaller hole on the other side to vent. But the 1960s saw the ingenious pull tab that opened the can for drinking with the vent no longer needed.
But it’s the bottom of the can in the spotlight when TikToker Jordan Howlett posted a video showing his discovery that the beveled bottom of the can is more multi-functional than we realized, and could be used to pop the pull tab without using your fingers. It’s not clear if his discovery was the first, but it was certainly one that caught the public eye (and gratitude) globally.
Give this cool hack a try the next time you pop a soda, or use it as a fun party trick at your next get-together with friends or family. You may be asked to repeat it a few times to prove that your hack is legit –- you can use all this extra soda in your cooking, from tenderizing meat and veggies to adding interesting flavors to desserts.
