Scientists Are Trying To Figure Out The Perfect Way To Eat Oreos

Along with a handful of other iconic snack foods, Oreos are a pop culture phenomenon. The famous cookie brand has been a mainstay of market shelves and home pantries for well over a century, meaning multiple generations have had the pleasure to witness the many metamorphoses in Oreo flavors. People have also had plenty of time to develop their go-to system when devouring these nostalgia-inducing delights — whether they prefer the "twist and lick" maneuver, dunking them into a cold glass of milk, or unapologetically devouring a whole sleeve in one fell swoop. 

Let's focus on the first technique for a moment. More often than not, splitting an Oreo cookie in half, then gently rotating the cookie halves in opposite directions to essentially create two servings, has proven to be a tricky feat for many. One of the cookies typically hogs the white creme center, making the distribution uneven. Thankfully, a group of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is dedicating time and taste buds to resolving this decades-long frustration, per The Wall Street Journal.

A number of food phenomena seemingly defy the laws of physics, such as the fact that mushrooms cannot be overcooked, potato chip bags inflate in higher elevations, and the cream of an Oreo maddeningly separates inconsistently when the cookies are pulled apart. MIT scientists recently separated 1,000 Oreo cookies in different ways in hopes of unveiling the ideal mechanism to achieve two chocolate wafers with an equal division of intact vanilla creme.

Aptly named, "Oreology" is an innovative field that deals with the likelihood of a perfectly even split of the legendary sandwich cookie. According to Vice, the mechanical engineers at MIT used a rheometer, a tool that can precisely quantify a viscous substance's torque (the amount of force it takes to twist), to see what it takes to successfully bisect an Oreo's creme. After a mere thousand tests, the examination essentially concluded that there is, puzzlingly, no straightforward way to get a 50:50 ratio of creme on either cookie.

Crystal Owens, the PhD candidate at MIT who is spearheading the delicious study, told NPR, "There's no secret. It's a little bit comforting, though. It means that there's no sort of risk when you eat an Oreo. You can't do it wrong because there's no way to do it right."

Well, there you have it, folks. There truly is no right or wrong way to indulge in Oreos. At the very least, science can't confirm otherwise.