Your Pen Cap’s Hole

Have you ever noticed the tiny hole in your pen cap? Manufacturers designed them this way so that children didn’t choke if they wound up swallowing the cap by mistake. The hole ensures that air will still make it to their lungs until the object is finally removed. They really did think of everything, huh?

Rachfeed reports that a hundred people a year reportedly choke to death on these pen lids in the United States. A reduction in this figure has been attributed to the hole in the lid, with other companies introducing a similar feature. A perfect example where a tiny detail can have big impacts.