4 ms·

So if I do something different than what is described ("tapping the side"), I will get the desired effect? So they aren't wrong, they just decided not to exhaus

So if I do something different than what is described ("tapping the side"), I will get the desired effect? So they aren't wrong, they just decided not to exhaustively try out every method of tapping on a soda can? Tapping-on-the-bottom-with-near-painful-force is definitely not what people mean when they colloquially claim tapping on a soda can settles it down.

goldcd 8y ago
Hold on. You're right. They say side, I say bottom - and it might make a difference. To the average reader it reads the same. I'd be fine if both approaches were covered and compared. Googling provides results all over the place - I was using hyperbole for the 'nearly painful tap', but just to differentiate the methodology for tapping once lightly. Also results seem to vary massively when looked at some people say it works, some people say it doesn't, some people say aspartame surface-tension is related (maybe it is, I was using Diet Coke). My annoyance was just that there was a statement out there that says "This topic is false". No way to query, qualify, anything.
- jawnv6 8y ago
  It might? Your OP was very specific on the subject and you seem aware that the side is inappropriate: Few hard taps on the bottom detach the CO2 bubbles and cause them to all go to the top few hard taps on the bottom (not the side), few hard taps on the bottom of one (finger-tip with almost painful force) The actual claim on the site: Claim: Tapping the side of a soda can will prevent its contents from foaming over when you open it. I don't think you're as vehemently committed to rigorous fact-checking as your little anecdote would have us believe.
  - goldcd 8y ago
    Well on your basis we could open an infinite number of variations. Tap on the bottom or the side. Tap on the side, whilst facing North. Tap on the side, whilst facing North, using a finger with red-nail-polish. Tap on the side, whilst facing North, using a finger with red-nail-polish, on the left hand of a woman born under the sign of The Dragon. My point is that the specificity of the OP is down to Snopes, and I can't change that. They don't even provide these details. Maybe the side-tapper was born in the year of the pig, and that matters. My issue is mainly that they wish to be perceived as the source of all truth - and seemingly have NO interest in being corrected. Snopes never publishes any statement limiting their results, asking for further input, etc etc. Their 'thing' is just publishing absolutes. Nobody else does this.

goldcd 8y ago

Hold on. You're right. They say side, I say bottom - and it might make a difference. To the average reader it reads the same. I'd be fine if both approaches were covered and compared. Googling provides results all over the place - I was using hyperbole for the 'nearly painful tap', but just to differentiate the methodology for tapping once lightly. Also results seem to vary massively when looked at some people say it works, some people say it doesn't, some people say aspartame surface-tension is related (maybe it is, I was using Diet Coke). My annoyance was just that there was a statement out there that says "This topic is false". No way to query, qualify, anything.

jawnv6 8y ago
It might? Your OP was very specific on the subject and you seem aware that the side is inappropriate: Few hard taps on the bottom detach the CO2 bubbles and cause them to all go to the top few hard taps on the bottom (not the side), few hard taps on the bottom of one (finger-tip with almost painful force) The actual claim on the site: Claim: Tapping the side of a soda can will prevent its contents from foaming over when you open it. I don't think you're as vehemently committed to rigorous fact-checking as your little anecdote would have us believe.
- goldcd 8y ago
  Well on your basis we could open an infinite number of variations. Tap on the bottom or the side. Tap on the side, whilst facing North. Tap on the side, whilst facing North, using a finger with red-nail-polish. Tap on the side, whilst facing North, using a finger with red-nail-polish, on the left hand of a woman born under the sign of The Dragon. My point is that the specificity of the OP is down to Snopes, and I can't change that. They don't even provide these details. Maybe the side-tapper was born in the year of the pig, and that matters. My issue is mainly that they wish to be perceived as the source of all truth - and seemingly have NO interest in being corrected. Snopes never publishes any statement limiting their results, asking for further input, etc etc. Their 'thing' is just publishing absolutes. Nobody else does this.