Buzz
Five years ago, I split my very first apple in half, inspired by a viral video and the bold notion that if I truly believed in myself, maybe I could join the legendary apple-splitters. I succeeded (the apple indeed split in my hands), and I’ve been riding that victory ever since. Today, I revisit that moment, sharing my story once more and offering a clever twist: a way to cheat if your apple-splitting attempts aren’t going as planned.
What do I mean by ‘split an apple’?
It means breaking it in half, as if you’d used a knife to do it, right down the middle. Here’s a video of Paul Rudd impressing the internet with his apple-splitting feat (just a heads-up, it includes some adult language). Incredible! Who can pull this off? Surely only Paul Rudd!
I’m all for impressive displays of strength and skill. In fact, what excites me even more is finding out that such feats might be more within reach than I initially thought. (See also: my short-lived fascinations with bending nails and flipping kettlebells.) So when strength coach Adam Fisher shared a fresh viewpoint, I was immediately intrigued:
I don’t want to undermine the achievement of cracking open an apple. It’s definitely a test of strength, and not everyone can pull it off. But surprisingly, more people can do it than they might think. It turns out, Adam was right.
I saw Adam’s tweet during a conference, and in the lobby was a huge basket of apples, so I had the perfect opportunity to test the apple-splitting trick right away. After watching a few YouTube tutorials, I realized that, in the end, it’s the apple itself that truly teaches you.
How to crack that apple open
First, if you have small hands, opt for a smaller apple. And make sure it’s a crunchy variety; Honeycrisp apples work great. (My first attempt was with a medium-sized Gala, which was tough, but I managed.) You might want to remove the stem, not for any mechanical reason, but simply to avoid being poked while squeezing.
Next:
Find the soft, muscular area at the base of your thumb. Place the meaty part of both thumbs into the indentation at the top of the apple.
Squeeze the apple from top to bottom with as much force as you can. It might help to press the apple against your knee or any other stable surface.
While applying pressure, try pulling the apple apart, as if you were opening a book.
If it proves difficult, try using a smaller or firmer apple.
Don’t lose hope. I picked three Gala apples from the hotel basket, but only managed to crack one. When I got home, I grabbed a bag of small Honeycrisps and found them so easy to split that I did a few in a row for my kids, encouraging them to give it a try. None of them succeeded, but I told them to try again next year when they’ve grown a bit. Afterward, nobody wanted to eat the apples, so I ended up devouring them all by myself. Anyway, give it a go—you might surprise yourself!
How to make the apple easier to split (aka the cheat method)
Today, I sat down with an apple, thinking all I had to do was snap a new photo for this post. But the apple I picked—a Kanzi—wasn't playing along. What now? I could grab a few different apples from the store. I could treat this like a strength challenge (because, in a way, it is) and set aside a day when I'm better rested. Or maybe I could just cheat a little.
I know from experience that the apple-splitting process begins with a subtle, audible crack. You’ll hear a gentle sound as it starts to separate, and if you keep applying pressure, the rest of the apple will eventually give way.
So what if I gave that first crack a little boost? I didn’t have a knife nearby, so I pressed my thumbnail into the top of the apple, right along the line where I thought it would split. Then, I resumed my apple-splitting attempts.
Just as I expected, the cracking sound started almost immediately. My little cheat didn’t make the apple easy to split, but it definitely opened the door, so to speak. I kept up the pressure, and before long, the apple split in half just as I had hoped. A couple of fingernail marks could easily be added discreetly if you're trying this trick in front of others, and let’s be honest, you’re still splitting an apple with nothing but your bare hands. I hereby declare this a perfectly reasonable cheat. So go ahead, split that apple, you clever cheater.
