Sometimes you just have to pick up a fizzy drink.
They’re sweet, tasty and really work to hit the spot on a sunny day, but have you ever stopped to wonder about the can you’re drinking from? It turns out, many Brits haven’t.
That’s because people are only now realising what the “pullers” on drink cans are actually called. They help you open your favourite drinks quickly and efficiently, but you probably didn’t realise they have a name.
They are generally called tabs or pull tabs, though there’s been some debate about this over on Reddit. It seems as though they’re known by different names in various parts of the world, even though pull tabs seems to be the most popular option.
While opinions on the matter may vary, it’s good to know the little “pullers” actually have a name. You really do learn something new every day.
One person said: “Pull tab (Canada)”, to which another person replied: “That’s funny, since they’re not actually pull tabs anymore.
“I think the modern ones are technically called stay-tabs. I suppose it’s like how we still call it rolling up/down a car window.”
Another wrote: “Never heard it called anything other than ring pull in the UK.” A third also noted: “We call it a ‘Pop Tab’ (Midwest), but my whole life I thought it was because it popped when you opened it. Recently I think it’s because some people call the drink ‘pop’.”
Little you may know, there are actually various names for the handy little tabs, and lots of people seem to refer to them completely differently.
Others admitted to calling them “pop tabs”, while some admitted the term “the pin” is used in the US. Someone from France even chimed into tell people it’s known as a “Goupille” where they’re from.
Another added: “Australia it is ring pull tab.” One more wrote: “I just call it the top.”
Meanwhile, in Germany, someone was left quite mystified, writing: “I think here in Germany we dont even have a word for that thing.”
