# Is it true about soda can opener thingies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880 "2005-03-10T19:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mdm.President](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@Mdm.President](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdm.President)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/1 "2005-03-10T19:05:20Z")
Several years ago I heard that hospitals or vet clinics or someplace like that would pay $100 for a gallon milk jug full of the things. Does anyone know if this is true? There is a little girl in our area that needs a lung transplant. I thought this might be something I could actually contribute. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/2 "2005-03-10T19:08:36Z")
This one has been done over and over on the boards. Long story short: no. It is not true. You’d be doing the girl a lot more good if you simply collected pop cans and a)returned them for their deposit, if it applies in your state or B)returned them to your local aluminum recycler for their worth in metal. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/3 "2005-03-10T19:11:07Z")
The Snopes Dope on this story – it’s been around in one form or another for generations. > **[Can Pull Tabs Be Exchanged for Time on Dialysis Machines?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pull-tab-recycling-dialysis/)** > > Rumor has it that pull tabs from aluminum cans have special redemption value for time on dialysis machines. [www.snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com) is your one-stop-shop for questions and answers about Urban Legends. They’re truly fighting the good fight over there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/4 "2005-03-10T19:13:33Z")
[Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/business/redeem/pulltabs.asp) . ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/5 "2005-03-10T19:17:29Z")
That’s what I get for stopping to check my link in preview. :smack: @&#^$ Simulpost. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/6 "2005-03-10T19:17:31Z")
Cumberland Memorial Hospital. The late 80s. I was there because a pal of mine had a child in surgery and I was taking care of him. In the wee small hours we went down to the canteen to get some soda and snacks while he waited. And there was a large jar there. A jar halfway filled with pull-tabs. Written on the jar was something akin to ‘For every pull tab placed in this jar CMH will donate 1 minute of dialysis time to our pediatric patients.’ So don’t say it **never** happened. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/7 "2005-03-10T19:20:25Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > You’d be doing the girl a lot more good if you simply collected pop cans and a)returned them for their deposit, if it applies in your state or B)returned them to your local aluminum recycler for their worth in metal. or © every time you wanted a can of soda, get a drink of water and put 50 cents into a box. Once you’ve saved up enough cash, contribute that. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/8 "2005-03-10T19:43:49Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Cumberland Memorial Hospital. The late 80s. > > I was there because a pal of mine had a child in surgery and I was taking care of him. In the wee small hours we went down to the canteen to get some soda and snacks while he waited. > > And there was a large jar there. A jar halfway filled with pull-tabs. Written on the jar was something akin to ‘For every pull tab placed in this jar CMH will donate 1 minute of dialysis time to our pediatric patients.’ > > So don’t say it **never** happened. Yeah, but from what I gather, some places have done this in response to the urban legend. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/9 "2005-03-10T19:47:38Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > And there was a large jar there. A jar halfway filled with pull-tabs. Written on the jar was something akin to ‘For every pull tab placed in this jar CMH will donate 1 minute of dialysis time to our pediatric patients.’ I have a hard time believing that this was really done. I can’t argue that you saw a jar placed there by_someone_, but I can’t believe that the hospital would withold dialysis time for a poor kid because they didn’t collect enough worthless pull tabs in their canteen. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/10 "2005-03-10T19:58:24Z")
Sorry, no. This is a frequent Urban Legend that many people have fallen victim to. They spend much time and great effort collecting ringpulls, and then discover that _nobody_ wants them. It’s not just ringpulls, there’s all sorts of junk that gets collected for non-existent charity appreals: Walkers crisp packets, plastic milk bottles, and anything you can imagine. > **[Can Pull Tabs Be Exchanged for Time on Dialysis Machines?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pull-tab-recycling-dialysis/)** > > Rumor has it that pull tabs from aluminum cans have special redemption value for time on dialysis machines. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/11 "2005-03-10T20:07:06Z")
After-the-legend, but KRTH radio in LA is doing such a drive as I type. I just heard the spot for it. Bring in tabs for Ronald McDonald House. So it **does** happen. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/12 "2005-03-10T20:39:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > After-the-legend, but KRTH radio in LA is doing such a drive as I type. I just heard the spot for it. Bring in tabs for Ronald McDonald House. So it **does** happen. From Peter Morris’s link: > [@](#): > > It needs be stressed yet again that pull tabs are far from “found money” — even the Ronald McDonald House gets only 40 cents a pound for them (or $474 per million tabs, according to their web page). You’d still do far more good organizing a local soda can recycling program and donating the proceeds of same to Ronald McDonald House (or any other charity). So if KRTH collects 10,000 pull tabs, they’ll net their charity almost $5. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-about-soda-can-opener-thingies/293880/13 "2005-03-10T21:04:46Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Yeah, but from what I gather, some places have done this in response to the urban legend. As may be. Whichever came first (and note that I’m speaking of more than 15 years ago) it’s clear that it does happen.