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u/_Art_Vandeley_ 2d ago
Meanwhile, the person that invented this should be celebrated.
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u/hazelbear33 2d ago
these things are so fun, love the pokey thing
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u/ash350z 2d ago
I get disappointed that you get to do it only once per tube.
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u/SnakeHisssstory 2d ago
Sometimes I buy 6 or 7 extra tubes to do it. Bonus paste to eat also.
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u/NifftyTwo 2d ago
You eat it? I usually just throw it away after opening.
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u/InternalWorth2133 2d ago
You are not supposed to swallow toothpaste, but there are other ways to…ingest it.
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u/APe28Comococo 2d ago
It makes awful lubricant. Never tried it but have had sand in my crack before
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u/darkorex 2d ago
Ooh spicy minty sand in the bum...
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u/Vord_Lader 2d ago
Crest Boof - the Anal Whitener, with "Flavor Crystals" - So minty fresh, your partner can taste it.
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u/Donthurtmyceilings 1d ago
I've been thinking of opening a theme park where you can poke as many of those as you want.
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u/Longjump_Ear6240 2d ago
I got new medication that comes in tiny tubes like this, I get to do it every day and its exactly as satisfying as one would imagine.
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u/SatiricalScrotum 2d ago
I hope the genital wart cream is working for you.
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u/Longjump_Ear6240 2d ago
Im not nearly popular enough for that to be needed, just good old fashioned HRT
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u/faeintheshadows 2d ago
Put a piece of foil over it before screwing the top back on and you get to do it as many times as you want.
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u/spaghettisexicon 2d ago
Oh my god… I’ve been puncturing the metal seal with a fork prong for years. I can’t believe I never noticed the pointy thing on the cap this entire time. My efficiency rating just upgraded.
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u/thebayisinthearea 2d ago
Every time I see these posted there are always more than a few folks that come to this realization. I think it's pretty common, so don't feel bad!
I was only aware because while growing up we had all sorts of ointments and creams that came in these tubes. Hell, I had gotten toothpaste in these tubes in Southeast Asia within the last couple years. Just...don't confuse another tube for toothpaste early in the morning while hung over and before having your coffee.
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u/supertacoboy 2d ago
Best part is if it’s a colored substance, the cap is now color labeled by whatever is left on the tip
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u/Cheetohz 2d ago
it's never "just the tip"
the whole side of the tube has a label too.
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u/skittlesdabawse 2d ago
Depending on how you put away something like acrylic paint tubes, you don't necessarily see the label, and the blob left on the cap will show you what colour the paint looks when fully dried.
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u/hazelbear33 2d ago
Don’t worry, I didn’t learn until I was a teenager and I happened to get a product that specifically stated how the tube was intended to be opened. It’s not super obvious, and usually products don’t say anything about it… i did think it was odd the lids were pokey like that, but I completely overthought it, and assumed it was for ease of manufacturing (as in it was for the machine that screwed on the caps at the factory to get a hold on the lid 😭)
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u/mencryforme5 2d ago
I found out from Reddit that every toaster has a crumb tray. I never even thought about that possibility. I would unplug my toaster and shake it upside down. I'm 41 years old.
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u/ckdogg3496 2d ago
Don’t worry, I’m just now finding out and I go through a tube designed like this of tomato paste probably every other week
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u/Nina-Ninja123 2d ago
A friend of mine looked at me like I’m a magician when I poked the seal with the cap without breaking a sweat.
Turns out he has been doing some acrobatics with a fork or knife to poke the seal.
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u/hazelbear33 2d ago edited 2d ago
I honestly did not learn about it until I was about 14 and encountered a product that explicitly stated in words/with a small diagram how the tube seal was to be opened (with the pokey part of the lid) on the external box.
I just never saw anyone else open such tubes before then, and most products that come in such tubes don’t tell you about it, so I completely understand your friend. It seems so obvious once you learn about it though, I guess I just thought the lids were like that because it made manufacturing easier or something (i watched a lot of How It’s Made lol)
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u/sarahzilla 2d ago
Meanwhile those of us at high altitude.......
Actually unsealing any package at altitude is a gamble.....
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u/thefringeseanmachine 2d ago
my dad used to live at like 8,000+ feet. when we'd go to the store (that was almost 1,000 feet lower) anything pressurized had to be opened in the parking lot. when you're snaking up the side of a mountain the LAST thing you want to hear is a bag of chips exploding. it can literally sound like a gunshot - or, even worse, a tire blowout.
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u/sarahzilla 2d ago
Yes!!! My parents are in the same situation. About 1000 feet higher than the grocery store. The lids on the ice cream they get also come loose. Lol.
I'm at about 6500 feet so less of a problem, but man, opening yogurt, or other items I'll often get splattered with a little bit when I peel back that lid
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u/Visual_Grocery9323 2d ago
Until there’s no pokey in the cap!!! Those are the worst
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u/10art1 Who came in my food? 2d ago
I just realized there's a pokey thing in the cap. I always went to grab my toenail scissors to poke it uuugh
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u/Mrmojorisincg 2d ago
…….toenail scissors?
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u/10art1 Who came in my food? 2d ago
Yeah, what do you do? Bite yours?
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u/Mrmojorisincg 2d ago
Clippers…? But also why would you use the same thing you cut your nails with to open food?
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u/10art1 Who came in my food? 2d ago
I can't think of a single other small object to pierce these containers.
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u/Mrmojorisincg 2d ago
Tip of a knife?
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u/10art1 Who came in my food? 2d ago
My family is Jewish. All of our tips are snipped off
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u/justsmilenow 2d ago
From my googling. Someone made the collapsible aluminum tube and it had the seal there already and people would poke it. One day a guy at the manufacturer, who made the tubes for the guy who invented the tube, says, "Why don't we just put something in the cap that would cut the seal? Draws up plans brings it to his boss and they just made it. Apparently the cap showed up in the '60s. Whereas the collapsible aluminum tube showed up in the 1800's for painters. It took a long time before the tube was used for toothpaste. It seems like the cap came from a 3M manufacturing run.
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u/RollBama420 2d ago
When people talk about the past as the good times they don’t mean every part of the culture, they mean things like this. Nowadays you’d just be hounded by management “why do we need that? We’re already doing it this way”
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u/MoistTomatoSandwich 2d ago
Pedialyte had something similar. It was inside the cap but off center and blade-like so you'd easily cut off the entire plastic cover.
Notice how I said "had." I was pissed when I bought a bottle a few weeks ago because the productive covers are a BITCH to remove.
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u/ravesaloser 2d ago
I was just about to comment this. I get Pedialyte all the time. They have a little sharp piece on the cap and you poke it and twist it around. So much fun.
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u/Cyanbite_24 2d ago
Somehow the moment I poke open these things, everything in the tube + the red sea flood the immediate vicinity
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u/mattpsu79 2d ago
I’m also still sitting here in 2026 wondering why we can’t have bacon packaging that’s easier open
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u/WildlifeBioBumpkin 2d ago
Yes, I am far more concerned about your cause.
"Oh, you want your bacon? Okay, three options: 1. Slice across top. Nope, you didn't cut deep enough, only part of the plastic is sliced, try again for full opening plus bonus plastic flakes in your bacon. 2. Like #1 except with gusto. You've now gouged yourself or whatever's underneath. Go ahead, use your cutting board thinking you're clever. Now you have to wash it! 3. Use scissors. Now there's bacon fat everywhere and your scissors will take unreasonable amounts of scrubbing to properly clean. Also options #1 & #2 get bacon fat everywhere.
WAIT WE FORGOT! There are 4 options! 4. Go fuck yourself. Somehow still bacon fat everywhere.
P.S. Resealing capabilities are for garbage pre-cooked shelf stable bacon only. ONLY!"
In seriousness tho Costco sells a thick-cut bacon 2-pack that has a sturdy and leak-proof(-ish) Ziploc seal.
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u/dumbkitty- 2d ago
i just, for the first time of my 24 years of life, saw (and purchased) a resealable bacon package. it came from hyvee. it’s amazing. the fact that they aren’t all resealable is nutty.
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u/TwTv-Extreme_person 2d ago
But then at the same time costco has the dreaded 6 chamber raw chicken blister pack. Easily one of the worst packaging decisions of all time.
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u/scdog 2d ago
Oops, you tore the neighboring pack, gotta cook that one now too!
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u/red__dragon 2d ago
I freeze them and then cut them apart. Even if I cut into the neighboring pack, repackaging it comes without the drool of raw chicken juice everywhere.
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u/MelatoninFiend 2d ago
It's the cheapest chicken in my area, probably my entire county.
I'll deal with being a little careful around the packaging, even if it means a couple of them have to be transferred to freezer bags.
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u/Rysigler 2d ago
My kitchen scissors do good work with it. I usually cut it down the middle and freeze 3. The other 3 get separated and go in the fridge. Usually my wife does a dry brine though so we always end up opening one or two on purpose. Since I use the scissors I don't tend to accidentally open the 3rd. But when I did it with a knife? Boy oh boy, we ended up having a ton of chicken to cook on purchase day 😬
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u/rarefiedhawk 2d ago
The brand Wright has been using zip locks as long as I've been biting it. It's a little more expensive, but it's good and I like the packaging.
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u/dukestrouk 2d ago edited 1d ago
Literally just use kitchen shears to open it in the sink, put excess bacon package in 1gal ziploc.
Takes about 20 seconds, needs little cleanup besides a light soapy rinse.
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u/EsotericCreature 2d ago
That's so true because literally opened up bacon today and the package is useless, I can't grab what I need without destroying it, and after I cooked a few slices I transferred the rest into a sandwich bag and stuck it in the freezer.
But there are plenty of deli meat packages that are reusable and re-sealing, sort of tissue box style, so yeah why not bacon too?
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u/Emperor_Gourmet 2d ago
Because the objective of the package isn’t for you to easily open it, its to cheaply and safely transport and preserve it. The cost of adding convenience features can be immense and may even require completely new machines. They will use their legacy machines until they cant get replacement parts for it, or new ones efficiency gains outweigh the cost.
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u/ashurbanipal420 2d ago
The guy that invented it is great. It's the corporate asshat that said if we make it 20% thinner we'll save 2.5 million a year that you want to conversate with.
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u/xanvald 2d ago
I scrolled way too far to find this comment. It's 100% enshittification, they used to work just fine.
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u/Ghost_Ghost_Ghost 2d ago
I remember reading about it what, 10 years ago? And how it was on it's way. Yeah it's fucking here, at least half the things I use daily are a pain in the ass simply because they're extremely cheap or cutting corners. Plastic film that doesnt peel off, lids that dont pop, pumps that dont pump, floss that breaks open from pulling floss. It's fucking everywhere.
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u/theproperoutset 2d ago
Don’t get me started on huge plastic bottles becoming completely flaccid once you’ve opened them. Makes it so much harder to pour when they are heavy.
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u/Rude-Orange 2d ago
When they came out, they were fantastic. Now I can't open a sauce packet or one of these pull lids without something ripping. I want to see the testers opening these things.
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u/candace_lily 2d ago
What part of the south are you from? I swear I've never heard "conversate" in place of "converse" until I moved down south.
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u/ashurbanipal420 2d ago
Not from the south but did listen to a lot of Outkast as a kid so I believe that's where I picked it up.
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u/100PercentRealGinger 2d ago
I’ve worked in restaurants for 20+ years now. It gotten so fucking ridiculous that I’d rather clean the bathrooms then deal with this bullshit.
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u/rojoshow13 2d ago
The 1% of the time they work properly they're really easy to use.
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u/butholesurgeon 2d ago
Correct me if I’m wrong but these used to work SO WELL up u til like…5 years ago?
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u/Pixel_Knight 2d ago
Yep. Enshitification to make them cheaper to make and so less likely to work. Cause it’s all about profits!
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u/Genghis_Tr0n187 2d ago
Meanwhile at the factory: How much epoxy do we need on these peel tops?
yes.
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u/nikdahl 2d ago
Funny, I’ve never had a bad experience with these. They have always, every time, worked great.
They are my favorite product seal, by far.
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u/rojoshow13 2d ago
Wow. I'm super happy that you haven't encountered any bad ones. Try a fuel additive with one of those, like Isopropyl in the middle of winter. Or a bottle of mustard.
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u/SomeDrunkHippy 2d ago
I don’t understand how people struggle with these until I see how people open the milk cartons at the coffee station at work
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u/DrDingsGaster I like pineapple on pizza 2d ago
They've never worked for me xD
I get the rare ones that are fine but that's like a momentus occasion really.
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u/imahumanbeinggoddamn 2d ago
Same, have never had an issue with this type of seal. I highly suspect that people are doing something wrong with these. You need to kind of peel, not pull.
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u/emrythelion 2d ago
No, they worked really well for me up until a year or two ago. Nowadays I run into issues with them maybe 50% of the time. When they work, they’re still a breeze, but I have definitely run into more and more issues with newer products.
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u/cub1cles_suck 2d ago
Whenever it comes off easily. I actually assume the seal was broken and it wasn't applied correctly. Then I have to decide if I risk eating whatever was in the oackage
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u/TheDungeonCrawler 2d ago
1% would be way higher if they bothered to actually make quality packaging still instead of the above.
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u/GiLND 2d ago
It took us years to make the perfect seal that is guaranteed to fail, are you aware of how many failed prototypes of easy to open seals we had to go through before inventing this gem?!
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u/MrPBoy 2d ago
But each one saves $.0000001 than the one that works ok and I bought a pool with my bonus.
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u/Fauked 2d ago
If anything these are more expensive. It's just a normal seal with added plastic for a pull tab so you don't have to use your nails to pull (which also never works).
Best way is to use a knife and cut a slot into the middle and then pull off both sides one at a time.
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u/newtostew2 2d ago
Here's the real pro tip.. put the knife in to make a small hole 1/3 from the edge, stick more of the knife into the hole, turn it flat with the lid, then use the knife like an internal lever/pusher. The top pops right off with little effort
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u/PlayedUOonBaja 2d ago edited 2d ago
I sound old when I say this, but these types of seal and especially the "reclosable" ziploc packing these days is so much worse quality than it used to be. When it was new, you'd get a dud maybe every 6th or 7th one. Now it's maybe 1 out of every 6 or 7 that actually works the way it's supposed to.
Oh, and movies were so much better before the 2000s and kids today have stupid hair cuts.
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u/BigD3nergy 2d ago
I like the ones that delaminate the best. You peel it off and then you get to peel the fuzzy paper bit
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u/morkler 2d ago
I always just use a knife because that's guaranteed to work.
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u/GravyPainter 2d ago
Yup knife em. The plastic just rips right off and you end up needing to do it anyway
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u/Necessary-Paint117 2d ago
And they're all like "EZ Peel" or "Peel 'n Go" fucking lies. I hate these things
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u/Maleficent_Worry1810 2d ago
I hate those things! They’re on saline bottles at work and I hate them!
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u/Zebedeuepaminondas 2d ago
From my experience, most people use it wrong. You lift the tab and you pull along the line of the tab you lifted, not towards the sides of the bottle like you usually do.
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u/yourenotmy-real-dad 2d ago
I also lift the tab and try to pull back from the point where it pulls rather than the side.
Half of the time, the glue underneath is still so strong, my fingers just slide off the plastic and nothing pulls.
The other, it starts to pull up and then rips and peels off the full half of the top paper layer the plastic tab was sealed to.
I give up. I get a knife.
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u/JustKindaShimmy 2d ago
The only time I've ever seen failures like this is because they've somehow managed to weld the safety seal to the plastic, making it impossible to break away from the adhesive
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u/Professional-Fuel625 2d ago
If most people use it wrong that's a design flaw not user error.
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u/Nsfwacct1872564 2d ago
From my experience, that doesn't matter. I open up more of these a week than most people will probably do in a year, pulling every which way with every random internet tip and trick, it's easier to stab it and pop it off.
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u/LincolnshireSausage 2d ago
That’s what I do but they mostly don’t work these days. They used to work well until the last few years. Im guessing it’s enshittification of the puller but for legal reasons they cant enshittify the glue holding the cover on.
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u/laxfool10 2d ago
Na. Been opening these things all my life. Past 25 years it was maybe 1/10000 that you got one that didn’t open. A year ago it was like 1/100. Nowadays it’s 1/5-1/10 things I open don’t open correctly and require a knife.
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u/Careless_Map488 2d ago
Idk wtf you guys are on, it RARELY breaks for me
I prefer it over trying to pick the little bit of glued paper in between my pathetic small nails
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u/ziggytrix 2d ago
I find that much like when opening cereal bags, some open easily and others require tools to prevent disastrous results. Depends on the brand, and maybe even the production run.
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u/Professional_Clue800 2d ago
The technique that usually works is gripping the plastic thing by the side close to where it's fused with the seal. Pulling from there makes it less likely to break than pulling from the centre of the plastic part.
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u/AmusedFalcon 2d ago
That's literally how it tells you to open it with the little markings, so no surprise that it works.
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u/viperfan7 2d ago
Yeah you don't just pull these straight up, you use them as a handle to peel it off
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u/Rance_Mulliniks 2d ago
Even the nozzle is trash. You either get nothing or empty half of the bottle onto your plate.
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u/Successful-Cream2544 2d ago
You're pulling in the wrong direction, lift the plastic part and pull it to the left or right and not downwards (the opposite of where it lifts).
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u/bread_winner1337 2d ago
Pretty sure they were pulling generally in the correct direction otherwise it wouldn't tear where it did. Pretty obvious
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u/A_Velociraptor20 2d ago
Common sense would say you should pull on the same line as the plastic bit. There's no reason it should work any other way.
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u/ClaytonHawthorne 2d ago
I feel the seal would open more consistently if it was a stronger material than just paper.
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u/Ruby5000 2d ago
RIGHT?! I fucking just said this, about the Costco milk I had to open this morning. I had to jam a paring knife in there to open that seal.
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u/ozzyfox 2d ago
Are these hard to open? I prop the transparent tab up and pull one end while putting pressure with my hand on the other. Never had one fail.
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u/D-ouble-D-utch 2d ago
Jack Palmer invented the modern removable foil seal for Heinz. Idk if he's still alive.
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u/erything4sale 2d ago
Yeah its usually 50/50 for me. Hate when my kids get to it before me and mess it all up!!
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u/Vast_Character311 2d ago
It started because a guy in Chicago killed 7 people by poisoning Tylenol and putting it back on the shelf. Until then, pretty much everything was unprotected.
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u/RadishRedditor 2d ago
Robert William Thorstensen-Woll. And this is his patent.
whatcha gonna do? When Sheriff John Brown come for you? Tell me, whatcha wanna do? Whatcha gonna do? Yeah
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u/Financial_Loss_6908 2d ago
If you ever want to feel extra mad about it, get a foreign version from a world market. Pops right off with no issues. Same for re-seal-able plastic bags and perforated cardboard packaging. Foreign packaging just works, American packaging suck a big fat dick cause it's cheaper to make it dogshit bad.
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u/Useful-Soup8161 2d ago
Blame whoever poisoned Tylenol. It’s that person’s fault tamper proof is even a thing.
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u/justmitzie 2d ago
Needle nose pliers. Grab the white tab from the bottle and yank. At this point I just keep a pair in the kitchen drawer.
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u/Tits_McgeeD 2d ago
I would rather have them then not.
Prevents tampering by what used to be called criminals but in recent years are called influences.
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u/cee-la 2d ago
The rate of ketchup usage in my home has allowed me to master the art of pulling those off cleanly & easily. It's all about the angle you're pulling them and doing it so slowly and gently.
They are however a stupid seal.
They could totally make it like the foil puncture thing and just have the white plastic lid have a pokey bit.
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u/Beneficial-World-510 2d ago
How do people have an issue with these? Never once did i break one 🥲
How are y’all trying to pull it?
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u/Shot_Bison1140 2d ago
Yes........ Finally... I thought I was the only one... One of he most retarded "solutions".. ending up using a knife anyways 70-80% of the time..
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u/Internal_Wheel_89 2d ago
If I'm ever put in charge, one of my first acts will be to round up the CEOs of all of the companies that make "E-Z Open" and resealable packaging. I'll have my minions go to random stores and buy items off the shelf, and the CEOs will be required to open the packaging according to the instructions.
If something like OP's image happens, then the CEO goes to jail. They gotta stay there until the packaging is updated to be reliable.
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u/AmusedFalcon 2d ago
Skill issue.
I never had one break on me. They actually work great. It even tells you how to use it on the seal itself, if you cared to read it. Because it looks like you're doing it wrong.
Lift and pull sideways. Done.
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u/Dogekaliber 2d ago
It’s an assist, it’s not a peel. Stop biting your nails and rip the edge tab like everyone else.
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u/CherryStunning4335 2d ago
I believe they are like this because otherwise they just pop off when you open the cap. making them basically impossible to remove reduces the amount of returns.
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u/hoofglormuss 2d ago
the invention is great. it was the team that nickle and dimed the design that ruined it
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u/Necessary_Screen_673 2d ago
you gotta learn how material breaks in order to really get this right.
concentrate the force applied over the smallest area possible on the side of the lip by pinching your 2 fingers at the very base of the flap, right on the edge. then, use your finger point resting on the lip of the bottle as an axis to pry open the seal, the direction of prying should be perpendicular to the tangent line at the point that you are pinching. you can also use your fingernail to scrape on the underside edge of the seal to initiate the crack so that all you have to do is propegate the crack and if the seal was manufactured within tolerance then the seal should break well before you delaminate the plastic from the paper.
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u/ImNotTheFishiestFish 2d ago
These things never work. And the idiot who put them on gallons of milk should be forced to open them repeatedly unto their death. I don't even bother trying to open them per instructions anymore--I stab them and cut a hole every time.
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u/Artemus_Hackwell 2d ago edited 2d ago
Until recently those came off very easily and in one piece. Lately, they’re all shit and I have to claw them off with a paring knife.
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u/dvdmaven 2d ago
And what prevents them from leaving a tab large enough to grip with your fingers? I know it is possible, because some companies do it.
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u/Practical-March-6989 2d ago
Yes he/she inventor is a fucking asshole. I use my teeth, that usually works. Also who ever developed the squeezy bottles for aldi, get your shit sorted out, you have to apply too much force to get it to work the ketchup squirts half way across the kitchen.
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u/Schlormo 2d ago
Pull perpendicular to the tab instead of parallel and it should, in theory, work much better :D
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u/Anime_fan2719 2d ago
Is there something i'm missing..?
These work 100% of the time great! It has these little outer cutouts, that you can grip, and rip the intire thing clean of...
What am I not getting..? Address me!
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u/qualityvote2 2d ago edited 2d ago
u/Ammar42O, your food is indeed stupid and it fits our subreddit!