A TikTok creator who posts mostly about hair, beauty, and travel held up her phone charger next to another, slightly larger socket in her new car’s dashboard and asked her followers what the second one was for. The 10-second video has drawn more than 3,800 views and a comments section that ranged from genuine answers to disbelief. But it turns out the creator’s confusion tracks with a genuine shift in how modern cars are built.
Triciarosemary5 (@triciarosemary5), a St. Louis-based creator whose channel focuses on hair care, fashion, and recipes, posted the video on April 21.
The Question
Speaking to the camera from the driver’s seat, Triciarosemary5 frames the question simply. “Tell me what this is,” she says. Pointing the camera at the dash, she adds, "So this here is for my charger, but then what’s this thing for? Is this just another charger that’s fatter?”
The “fatter” socket she’s pointing at is the 12-volt accessory outlet—the near-universal round port that, for most of the past century, was known as the cigarette lighter socket.
The Cigarette Lighter: A Quick History Of A Disappearing Part
The car cigarette lighter is nearly 100 years old. According to Jalopnik's history of the cigarette lighter plug, the cylindrical socket design was first patented on October 2, 1919, and by 1956, the Casco company's V-coil design, developed by engineer Lawrence Fenn, had become the industry standard—the same basic port still used in cars today. The ANSI/SAE J563 plug specification that codified the design was issued in 1960.
Its decline tracked with the decline of smoking itself. By the early 2000s, most automakers had stopped installing the heating element but kept the socket, rebranding it as a 12-volt power outlet. A 2020 PickupTruckTalk feature traced the full fade-out. Toyota built its last factory-fitted cigarette lighter into a 2017 Sequoia, after which it redesigned the port as a straight power outlet.
Commenter the_cooperreyn summed up the current state in the comments section: “It was for a cigarette lighter but most cars don’t have that as standard anymore now it’s just power or optional smokers package.”
What It’s Actually For Now
The 12-volt socket is still useful for a wide range of accessories, which is why automakers have largely kept it even as USB-A and USB-C ports have taken over the everyday charging job. Plenty of automotive accessories — tire inflators, portable air compressors, 12V coolers, small fans, dash cams, and older GPS and radar units — still use the 12-volt plug as their power source.
Commenter BananaMan73 listed the uses concisely: “12vdc accessories. Fans, coolers, air pumps, etc.” Multiplecrib4 added, “It’s a 12 Volt outlet/charger. It can be used with multiple items. Flashlights, radios, inflation devices, etc.”
The socket is also the reason plug-in inverters—small units that accept a 12V plug on one side and deliver a standard AC outlet on the other—exist. Commenter jerrybuirge captured the full generational flex: “12 volt socket. You can plug in an adapter that will run 120 so you can plug the little TV with the built-in VHS player so kids can watch movies on the way to Grandma’s.”
‘How Did You Make It This Far?’
User Eli made one of the most popular comments, writing, “How did you make it this far?” Triciarosemary5 replied sweetly, “Because of you,” followed by a heart-eyes emoji.
Several older commenters used the moment to mourn their own mortality. “Did you just call me old?” wrote Mark P. “I’m officially old…!!!” added Godsrebel. Cooley wrote, “My old [expletive] does NOT need this today.”
Christina Harsch joked, “We used to plug a special tool in there to fight the dinosaurs.”
Giarc18 got in on the act, writing, “It’s a coin holder/dispenser. Go ahead and drop some nickels in there.” (For the record, that is not what the 12V socket is for. Inserting coins into an energised socket is a short-circuit waiting to happen and, on older units, a fire risk.)
The Real Revelation
Commenter Ronn Jonn eventually gave Triciarosemary5 the actual origin story answer. “It’s to light your cigarettes,” he wrote.
That was the information that made the video worth posting. “Do people smoke in their car?” Triciarosemary5 replied.
Commenter B filled in the rest of the cultural history: “They used to have ashtrays too.”
Motor1 reached out to Triciarosemary5 via TikTok direct message for additional comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
@triciarosemary5 #carsoftiktok #carhelp #carslover ♬ original sound - triciarosemary5
