Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Kickin' it old-school


See that can of Coca-Cola on the right? It's Chinese coke -- pretty much indistinguishable from U.S. Coca-Cola except for one thing: the version 1.0 pop-top. Over here, beer and soda (or "pop" if you're from Western PA) come in cans with those sharp-edged pain-in-the-ass pull-tabs.

There really is a difference between these pull-tabs and the more modern tabs. These old-school tabs test one's dexterity. When we first arrived here, I was the designated beer opener because D couldn't get his cans open without 1) breaking of the tab before removing it completely or 2) spilling beer from using too much force when pulling the tab off. From all the practice I've gotten these last few months, my technique is smooth. I can hold a can and remove the tab with the same hand I'm using to hold the can. A one-handed operation.

D and I were trying to remember why they stopped using these kinds of tabs in the U.S. Anyone got any thoughts about it?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sis, i believe it was a litter issue. The new design does not leave you anything to throw on the ground.

mryonker said...

Yeah, mom's got it. AND that when you threw those tabs on the ground, they were like razor blades that would slice through a foot when stepped on.

Anonymous said...

also, one thing to do with the tab after you pulled it off the can was to insert it into the opening and drink. guess what happened to some people?(especially beer drinkers)

Anonymous said...

Man. I'm having unfortunately detailed mental images of crapping out razor sharp schlitz tabs right now. Thanks, dad.

Jonathan Benda said...

They haven't been using this kind of tab in Taiwan for a while, but with the pull-tabs they do have, your fingers have to have the abilities of Mr. Fantastic to get under the tab and pull it up. (Either that or you risk breaking a fingernail.)