The answer lies in the physics of what's happening inside the can.
"[Bubbles] are formed as a result of what is called supersaturation of carbon dioxide," Roberto Zenit, a professor of engineering at Brown University who studies fluid mechanics, told Live Science.
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However, if the soda can is open while the bubbles are suspended in the liquid, the sudden pressure drop from opening the can encourages more bubble production, resulting in more spillover, Rodríguez Rodríguez said.
Does tapping actually work?
Unlike NASCAR drivers, most people are looking to save their drink, so they may try tapping the top of the can.
"The reason why you tap is basically to remove possible bubbles or dust particles within the soda can," Zenit said. If you remove those, you can reduce the rate of bubble formation, he added.
Tapping on a soda can can also work for carbonated drinks in glass and plastic bottles. (Image credit: Pornchai Jaito/EyeEm via Getty Images)But that explanation comes with an important caveat: While gentle tapping might dislodge a handful of bubbles, tapping too hard, or tapping repeatedly, could create more bubbles, Rodríguez Rodríguez said. The same principle applies to carbonated drinks in glass or plastic bottles, as tapping down on a beer bottle can encourage foam to fizz over.
In one preprint study from 2019, researchers tested 1,031 cans of beer by dividing them into four groups: shaken and tapped, shaken and untapped, unshaken and tapped, and unshaken and untapped. The tapped cans were flicked three times on the side with a finger before being opened. The researchers found no statistically significant difference in the amount of beer lost between the tapped and untapped cans, regardless of whether they had been shaken. They concluded that tapping "does not prevent beer loss" and that the practice isn't supported by their observations.
"Beer and soda differ in composition and foaming behavior, but the study provides relevant experimental evidence that tapping is not a demonstrated solution," Kit Yam, a food scientist at Rutgers University, told Live Science in an email.
How do you prevent a soda can from fizzing?
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If you don't have another can or you don't want to wait, Rodríguez Rodríguez suggested another option: opening the can slowly.
You can use the same process to reduce the amount of foam that spills over when you pour a carbonated drink into a glass.
"If you pour it slowly," Zenit said, "then you reduce this agitation."
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