Try out these cool “feats of strength” at home! Then if you want to know more about how they work, check out Strong Man Science for more behind the scenes knowledge. Everyone will think you’re the strongest kid on the block, when you’ll really be the smartest!
CHALLENGE: Interlace the pages of two ordinary phonebooks and just try to pull them apart!
SCIENCE: See Friction
CHALLENGE: The average egg is tougher than it looks! But your challenge is to bust open an egg by squeezing it in your palm.
* NOTE: Do this outside or with good clean up gear ready! It could get messy!
SCIENCE: See The Strength of Domes.
CHALLENGE: Place a toothpick on the fingernail of your middle finger. Put your index and ring finger on top of the edges of the toothpick. Leaving it EXACTLY where it is break the toothpick in half.
SCIENCE: See Leverage and Fulcrum
CHALLENGE: Make a dent in a tin can. Brute strength can’t even come close to squeezing out the goods!
SCIENCE: See Concentration/Distribution of Force
Tip: Give up????
Surprisingly this one is........
impossible
TIP: If you squeeze the tin with the palm of your hand the force from your muscle is spread out evenly over all the space your touching. But if you hit the can with one finger all your power is concentrated in to one small area! Lay the can on its side, place one finger across the can and give your finger a good whack with the other hand’s palm. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt. The only thing that will be hurting ... is that CAN!
TIP: Having a hard time? The strength of the egg’s shape is a clue why an egg can withstand compression (like squeezing it in your hand) without breaking. BUT... when you put pressure across just the middle an egg will break easily! That’s why folks whack an egg from the center across a hard surface when cooking. Take the egg in your palm and squeeze most of your strength with only your middle finger - or better yet wear a ring when trying the trick!
