That Diamond Patch on Your Backpack Has a Very Cool Secret Purpose

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(Image credit: Courtesy, design by Betsy Farrell)

published 25 January 2017

Like knowing what the metal bit keeping your shoelaces from unraveling is called (aglet!) or the real purpose of that drawer under your oven (opens in new tab) (warming plates!), it is always pleasant to find out that there is still some mystery surrounding the most mundane objects in our lives. Just last week we learned what the tiny fifth pockets on our jeans are for (opens in new tab): preventing old-time-y cowboys' watches from breaking (even if the modern buckaroo would be more likely to store his vape pen there...).

In this latest edition of Small Wonders of the Immediate World Around Us Which We Apparently Stumble About in Blindly, we discuss the slitted diamond patch found on your faux-ironic/nostalgic Jansport rucksack.

Three guesses what it's for. Decoration? Wrong. So shy strangers on the street can post love notes and phone numbers without actually interacting with you? Um, no, creepy. Vape pen storage, then? Stop.

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Called a "lash tab" or "pig snout" (cute), that leather's original intent is to hold extra gear on cords to be strung through the openings. That might mean a canteen or tactical flashlight to *outdoorsy types,* or, to you, some tangle-free earbug storage, or an extra pair of boots when ducking baggage fees. (Though who knows how long it'll be before they start charging for the recycled oxygen.)

And just in case your bag somehow bucks the trend of purposefully "vintage" styling, lash tabs are easy enough to buy (opens in new tab) and sew on on their own. The more you know 😎.

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Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at MarieClaire.com. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.