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!
TIP: Give up??? Surprisingly this one... is impossible!
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!
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!
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.
TIP: The fingers act as a lever. Levers are simple machines that help us perform work with with less effort. Levers have a point called the fulcrum. Where you place the fulcrum makes all the difference! In the first way the fulcrum is too close too far away from where your applying the force and it feels nearly impossible! But change the location of the fulcrum by sliding the toothpick up to your knuckle and its easy!
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!
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!
SCIENCE: See Concentration/Distribution of Force
