People Are Just Realizing They’ve Been Using Heinz Ketchup Bottle All Wrong: 'I Was Today Years Old'

Sometimes, it is smooth, like a viscous red liquid dribbling in ropy streams and collecting onto a bowl of potato chips or next to a sandwich or a pizza. But other times, the ketchup acts stubbornly, refusing to leave the mouth of the bottle. This is agonizing, especially when you're hungry. The human keeps on squeezing and squeezing the bottle, but the tenacious gloop of the ketchup lingers inside, unmoving. Bubbles trapped in the bottle only add to the frustration, who can’t wait any longer to dip their potato fries in the sauce. But a TikTok user, Laura (@momlifewithlaura), has figured out a way to coax this headstrong ketchup out from the bottle. “How many years old were you when you found this out?” she captioned the video.

“I was today years old when I found out this little piece under the ketchup cap is used to poke a hole in the center of the cover so that it's easier to get the ketchup out without having to remove that,” Laura explained in the video. She uncapped the white lid of a Heinz ketchup bottle and showed how the little protrusion at its center, normally used to pour the sauce, could double up as a seal cutter. She pierced this protrusion into the tight seal of the bottle and carved a hole. She also showed how easier it became to squeeze the ketchup once this hole was popped into the seal using the protrusion in the white bottle cap. The video wrapped up with a dollop of red ketchup collected on a napkin.

“Wow, that makes it so much easier,” commented @inamotherworld on the video. An influencer, @ongsquad, exclaimed, “What? Every time someone pours ketchup, we get a flood. I wish I knew this earlier.” @diseased reflected that “your toothpaste has this too.” Many users, however, did not agree with Laura’s explanation. They said the spout in the bottle’s lid is supposed to keep the sauce fresh and protect it from the air, not to punch a hole in the seal. “I mean it works for that reason, but that's not why it's there. It's to plug the hole so it doesn't get dried up ketchup in it,” wrote @ashleyputnins. @onehappydog wrote, “It's to stop the ketchup from leaking if it falls over and to keep the lid secure and fresher.”

Laura is not the only person to have figured out this awesome feature in a Heinz ketchup bottle. Another TikTok user, named Jasmin (@sandeli11) shared the same hack in a video. Like Laura, she too opened the top flap of the bottle’s lid and pressed it into the seal, gashing a hole at the center. Commenting on her video, one person said, “Works on creamers too! No more metal paper cuts!”

An Instagrammer, going by the moniker @thegoochpage, shared the same hack using a Heinz bottle, writing, "Easy way to poke a hole in ketchup." Explaining how to apply this hack, he said, “Take the lid off your tomato ketchup, turn it upside down. Press a hole right in the center for perfectly poured ketchup,” he explained.

You can follow Laura (@momlifewithlaura) on TikTok for lifestyle content.