Have we been doing this wrong the whole time? Every adult American is probably 100% confident that they know how to work a can-opener properly. For some of us, it may be the only kitchen “gadget” that we own. But a new viral TikTok may just have you questioning if you’ve been doing things wrong your entire life.
The account of TikTok creator Bellazane Creed (@bellazanecreed) is a hodgepodge of video shorts but the one dropped on Aug. 25 had us shook. The video racked up more than 4 million views as of this article.
“Y’all been opening up cans wrong y’all whole life,’ said the man in the video as he unpackaged a brand new can opener.
@bellazanecreed Who knew?! #fyp #viral #christiantiktok #opening #innovations #viralvideo #organic #dadsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Bellazane Creed
“What y’all used to do is this,” he said, demonstrating the common way nearly all of us use the device — inserting it from the side of the can and twisting the handle as we work around the can.
“You do not put it right here,” he demonstrated, indicating the side of the can. “You put it on the top, you lock it and you twist it.”
Using this method shown in the video, the can moves itself, propelled by the twisting and the lid comes off directly above the can with no mess.
“No wonder it brakes all the time the other way,” wrote a surprised viewer in the comments.
“You’ve made my day. It’s so hard to open cans when having carpal tunnel,” wrote another viewer.
“In our defense those never came with instructions,” another viewer admitted.
The Daily Dot has reached out to the Bellazane Creed account via TikTok for further comment.
So have we all been the victim of a hoax? The answer is yes and no.
According to Southern Living, the proper way to use most can openers is “flat on top. Basically, instead of clamping the handheld tool onto the side of the can, so that the knob you’re turning is aligned on the rounded side, you simply place the can opener horizontally, on top of the unopened can.”
When used this way, “the entire top comes off cleanly (with no leftover lid) in one fell swoop. No digging required and no sliced fingers. And no dirty lid falling into your food.”
However, not all can openers are the same. While this method will work with many openers, there’s no guarantee that it works for all. If the top opening method isn’t working for you it may be that your opener was specifically designed for side use.
Of course some people will be sticking to the way they know best no matter what anyone says.
“Lol this makes much more sense but ima stick to what I’ve been doing for 32 years & that’s side ways,” a commenter concluded.