Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/10/31/how-to-open-a-walnut-with-your.html
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They’re basically the worst nuts anyway. Leave 'em.
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Though, I must admit, I sometimes have to resort to using my teeth. That plastic can be quite tough.
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Or just use another walnut, simple.
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Right, but how do you get that one open?
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It’s walnuts all the way down!
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i can attest that it is in fact possible to crack at least some walnuts between the palms of both hands. one of the tricks is, of course, applying pressure on the seam, but another is finding the sweet spot on the heal of your hand such that applying the required pressure doesn’t hurt your hand.
i started as a little kid doing an open handed hulk smash on walnuts resting on tables and eventually moved up to the more controlled (and less messy) double handed technique as i got older.
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I can crack ballpark peanuts with my bare hands!
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Tiberius, the Roman Emperor, had
…hands so strong that he could crack a walnut, or bore a tough-skinned green apple through, with thumb and forefinger.
Source: I, Claudius by Robert Graves.
https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.507212/2015.507212.I-Claudius_djvu.txt
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Or you know. Use a nut cracking tool.
Also it’d be more impressive if someone can crack open a chestnut with nothing but their hands 
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Don’t try that with black walnuts.
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Right, I open walnuts by putting two in my right hand, with the seams aligned and perpendicular, and squeeze. Whichever one is weaker breaks open.
Once I’m down to a single walnut I have to use both hands, because there’s no way I can pop the walnut that defeated all the others with one hand.
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lol I came here with this link ready to paste!
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I beg to differ. My favourite. Especially ‘wet’ walnuts.
If you use the heel of your hand it ought to be ok, but if you are slightly off, it may indeed hurt and your hand may need to heal.
(Sorry. Irresistible.)
You should submit the winning walnut to the Walnut Growers of <country_of_residence> Association. Maybe they could analyse the DNA and develop strains either easier or less easy to open, as required. Maybe with flat spots on one side to make the two-handed crack method easier?
And/or, save the winner to compete with the next bag. Eventually you will find the Uber Walnut.
Yes, I am stealing the idea of some guy that allegedly did this with M&Ms or Smarties.
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Your monkey-like ancestors would be so proud.
…If, you know,
- they were able to comprehend the concept of far lineage
- and actually gave a rat’s ass,
- and if walnuts in their current form had actually existed back then,
- and if (even) they hadn’t been busy cracking nuts using rocks already.
Well if you just want to crack the shell and not eat the fruit, then you could hand it off to the birb:
Is this something like boiled peanuts (which are my favorite)?
