A TikToker Just Taught the Entire Internet the Easiest Way to Open a Soda Can, Saving Fingernails all Over the World

Want to have your mind blown? Just head over to Jordan Howlett’s social media channels. 

Howlett, a 26-year-old from California who went from homeless to Division I athlete to social media megastar, has made a name for himself on TikTok and Instagram for his reaction videos that range from hilarious to downright educational. And that includes one of his latest videos, schooling us all on the best way to open a soda can. 

“So if you guys were to take a look at the bottom of a soda can, you’d see it has this extra circular ridge here,” Howlett says at the start of his TikTok video, which has amassed more than 1.3 million likes by the time of writing. “Now, obviously you need soda cans to have circular bottoms because it keeps the carbonation and the pressure how it is so that soda can taste so good. However, when soda cans were created in 1958, they didn’t look like this. You wanna know why? Because these sodas are multi-purposeful.” 

Howlett goes on to explain that the soda can design is made to not only allow for easy stacking but also to be used to open other cans. That’s right. All you need to do is stack one can on top of another and leverage that circular lip to pop the tab.

“It’s not a coincidence why they all stack so perfectly on top of each other,” he says, adding the trick is ideal for those who just got their nails done or have limited mobility with their fingers. 

Commenters were quick to jump in to add their thanks for the divine little trick, while others expressed their shock that they somehow didn’t know this before. 

“My jaw is on the floor, sir,” one commenter wrote. “I’ve learned more from Jordan than school ever taught me,” another added. 

We reached out to both Pepsi and Coke, who did not reply by the time of publication to confirm nor deny this is why cans come with said lip, but, we can say we tested Howlett’s trick ourselves at lunch today and are happy to report it does indeed work. And if Howlett’s video isn’t enough information on cans for you, we’ve got more. 

Carbonated soft drink canning actually dates back to 1940, though, as Howlett notes, the cans did indeed look different. That’s because the pull-top we know and love today wasn’t invented until the early 1960s. 

In 2015, Bill Hammack, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Illinois, and the man behind the popular Youtube page, “engineerguy,” shared an 11-minute video explaining exactly why soda cans are shaped the way they are, simply noting that no other shape would make any sense. 

“Every year nearly a half trillion of these cans are manufactured — that’s about 15,000 per second — so many that we overlook the can’s superb engineering,” he shares. 

Hammack notes, a spherical can would be great as it uses the least material, but obviously it would easily roll off surfaces. A cube wouldn’t work as the corners create weak points. However, the cylindrical can is the Goldilocks of vessels, using less material and no weak points. “Most important of all,” he says, “the cylinder can be rapidly manufactured.” 

Now that you know why cans are shaped the way they are and a neat trick to open them, all that’s left to do is crack your favorite flavor open and appreciate this modern engineering marvel.