Today, they are widespread and very easy to use. But there was a time when opening soda cans was extremely laborious. From then on, the pull tab is considered a brilliant engineering solution. It greatly simplifies your life, in particular the famous little hole whose function is very useful. A quick dive into the history of this clever innovation.
What is the hole in the tab of soda cans for?
Soda cans – Source: spm
To drink your soda can, you must automatically rotate the opening tab 180°. When folding it, a hole immediately appears. Certainly many people use it directly to drink their drink. But, most of the time, we prefer to put a straw in it. Now imagine that hole does not exist: inevitably, the straw would go in all directions and give you a hard time. This is what happens when you take a drink from a glass. You have to hold the straw with your finger to control it. Well, this is precisely where the famous hole in the metal tab of the cans comes in.
The great advantage of this hole is that it perfectly blocks the straw. So you don’t run the risk of getting kicked out or moving around everywhere. As soon as you slide the straw into the can, it definitely gets stuck and can’t escape anymore. Suffice it to say that this innovation is very useful for consumers. But it has not always been this way… Because, at a certain moment, the providential language did not exist!
When did language come into play? »
The soda can tab – Source: spm
The can was born in the United States in 1935, so it celebrates its 87th anniversary and has not aged one iota since it is more fashionable than ever. Still, it’s hard to imagine the agony it must have been to open a glass in those days. Because of course it wasn’t as perfected as it is today. At the time, people used a can opener, or even a hole punch, to pierce two holes in the lid of the can: a large hole to allow liquid to flow out, and a smaller one for air circulation. .
To open soft drinks more easily, it was the American engineer Ermal Cleon Fraze who invented a more functional opening system. According to legend, during a family picnic, he found himself without a can opener and ended up using a car bumper to open his beer. Motivated to solve the problem, in 1963 he developed the so-called “zipper” solution which consists of using a metal tab. It was enough simply to remove it from the soda to drink quietly. ” He nailed a flat ring to the cans that, when pulled, tears a chunk off the top of the drink. The hole was also large enough to allow enough air to enter when filling, while the liquid flowed out.“, we say.
The engineer’s idea was of course revolutionary as it made opening the can considerably easier. Only problem: the broken lashes started to pollute the environment, which raised serious ecological problems, but also safety ones. Therefore, it had to be remedied. Furthermore, a few years later, in 1975, a new opening system was born thanks to Daniel F. Cudzik, an engineer at Reynolds Metals, who innovated by proposing a more advanced, more environmentally friendly and less dangerous flange. This time, he was attached to the lid of the can, no need to rip it off completely. ” The opening system of the present invention requires a cover that can resist lateral bending, being sufficiently flexible and strong at the point of contact with the ring to be able to lift and retract it without risk.“explained the experts of the time.
An absolutely brilliant idea! This is the one we still use today.
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