Why It's So Difficult To Break An Egg Inside Your Fist
So, do you think you're a tough guy? If you can pump weights, watch horror movies without squirming, and resist the constant temptation of chocolate, you probably are.
However, being a tough guy isn't exactly as straightforward as it seems. Posing in absurdly uncomfortable positions for Instagram photos is a fantastic way to achieve some likes, but it doesn't actually prove your claims of toughness in any way. According to an investigation conducted by The Kitchn, even immensely strong titans would struggle to achieve one of the most common kitchen mistakes: breaking an egg.
While dropping an egg on the floor and watching it crack into a million gooey pieces of misery is the easiest event ever, especially when you don't want it to happen, it turns out that purposely trying to break an egg by putting it in the palm of your hand and making a fist is so difficult, it's almost impossible.
An egg's stable structure makes it incredibly difficult to break
Leaving aside the question of why anyone would ever want to crush a messy egg in their hand, attempting to squeeze one to death only results in confusion. Participants in The Kitchn's experiment made brave attempts to squash normal brown eggs by holding them vertically, but none were able to achieve the feat.
One effort was successful when trying to squish eggs horizontally, but it could not be repeated. Steve Spangler Science confirmed the extreme resistance of eggs, and also provided an explanation for baffled brains. Despite their reputation for being infuriatingly weak, eggs are actually equipped with a supreme strength thanks to their unique shape. The curved parts of the egg shell mean that weight is distributed evenly, resulting in a stable structure when pressure is applied equally to all areas.
The report explains that the key to cracking an egg in your fist is to squeeze it from one side, placing all of the strain onto one portion of the egg and causing the whole structure to collapse. Being able to smash an egg in your hand may create a sticky mess, but at least it'll earn you some serious strength credentials.