The Risky Business of Opening Canned Soda with Pull Tabs

The pop top on soda cans, which required the triangular wedge of aluminum to be removed and discarded, became a public health hazard in the mid-1960s due to the risk of injury and ingestion. The Stay-on-Tab, developed in 1974, solved this problem by bending the tab back into the can itself rather than popping it off. It was first introduced in 1975 on cans of Falls City beer and quickly became standard on carbonated beverage cans worldwide.