# DOG TAGS ?? why the notch on the end ??

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-tags-why-the-notch-on-the-end/214856>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [November 23, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-tags-why-the-notch-on-the-end/214856 "2003-11-23T17:07:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![l337\_h0b0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@l337\_h0b0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/l337_h0b0)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-tags-why-the-notch-on-the-end/214856/1 "2003-11-23T17:07:37Z")

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OK now you got me you told us why we got dog tags and where they came from BUT what about the Notch ?? what is it for ??

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**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-tags-why-the-notch-on-the-end/214856/2 "2003-11-23T17:42:23Z")

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The notch was/is merely a mechanism to ensure the “correct” side was stamped by the machine, nothing more, nothing less.

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-tags-why-the-notch-on-the-end/214856/3 "2003-11-23T20:54:23Z")

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Welcome, **I337 h0b0**. If you could include a link to the original article, it helps. The original SDstaff article by Songbird was [What’s the origin of army dog tags?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdogtags.html) .

And, as **Tedster** correctly replied, the notch was to hold the tag in the machine that made them. Up until the 1970’s or so. Since then, they don’t have notches.

**tomndebb** first posted the authoratative answer about this misconception/urban legend back in 1999. This link to that thread is [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2173&highlight=tags+notch](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2173&highlight=tags+notch)