The Canned Soda Pouring Hack That Just Changed Our Lives

Everyone seems to have an opinion on how to pour a soda can correctly. Some swear that pouring a carbonated drink at a 45-degree angle is the key to preventing excessive fizzing. Others insist on tapping on a soda can's top several times before cracking it open, but tapping does little to quell the forces at work within pressurized cans if they've been shaken. Putting a can in the fridge for a few minutes can help, however.

These methods might enhance your soda pouring experience, but a viral TikTok video shared a simple hack that will make your life even easier. After you open a soda, tilt the tab so it's perpendicular to the top of the can. Grab your glass and balance the tab of the soda can on the rim of the cup. Soda will pour out and slide down the wall of the glass, offering a similar effect as the revered 45-degree technique — only this pour is entirely hands-free.

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Some people who commented on the video called this method for a perfect pour a "game changer." Your soda won't be flat from fizzing out all at once, so the end result will be an ideal combination of carbonation and soda flavor. If you are pouring soda into glasses for a group of people, this hack is a must-try to spare yourself some time.

The idea of leaving soda to its own devices might seem a little risky, but the physics involved make this hack a foolproof solution to unwieldy soda pours. 

Soda gets its characteristic fizz from carbon dioxide that is dissolved into water pre-flavored with syrups and concentrates. Gas starts escaping from pressurized soda cans as soon as they are opened. Once a foam of bubbles forms the top of a poured soda, any additional carbonated liquid poured into the drink will fizz up faster since it's easier for gas to flow into bubbles that are already formed. That's what happens when you disturb the soda by pouring too fast or aggressively. Using this hack, you won't create the inch or two of fizz that takes a while to settle down. 

The reason this hack is so successful is that it makes use of the can's tab as a fulcrum, allowing the soda to be poured close to the glass' wall. By keeping the liquid close to the glass and maintaining a gentle flow of soda throughout, this technique takes the onus off the pourer for getting the height and speed just right.

Modern soda can design makes this hack possible. Before the current design, pop-top (also known as pull-tab) cans were the standard in the beverage industry. As the name suggests, someone would have to remove the top of the can to drink from it — unfortunately, this came with its fair share of bloody fingers and lips. The Sta-Tab design we associate with soda cans today was launched in 1975,  at which point the idea of balancing a soda can on the rim of a glass became feasible. 

It's difficult to discern exactly when this hack first originated, but it made its rounds on the internet around 2023. People might have been using this hands-free hack for decades, but thanks to TikTok, millions of people have seen this technique in action. While this is one hack that holds up, not all kitchen hacks on social media are this foolproof.