Researchers Have Investigated How to Perfectly Split Your Oreo

Introducing... Oreology ⚫⚪🥛

You can tell a lot about a person by how they eat an Oreo. 

We’ve got the quitters, who eat the cookie whole, and the splitters, who twist it in half (full disclosure – this part isn’t science, I made it up). 

If you’re a splitter, you’ve probably always wondered: How do you make sure you perfect the twist and split to your liking every time? 

Well, serious researchers have also considered this and they’ve devised a *checks notes* Oreometer. 

Confused? Interested? Hungry? Let’s dive (or dunk) in… 

What is the Oreometer? 

The Oreometer device, which is kind of like a 3D printer, was designed to split the cookie with a scientifically precise amount of torque, which is a measure of force used to rotate an object. 

Usually, when you split an Oreo, the creme filling will stick to one side. 

Researchers developed it in the hopes of being able to manipulate the filling to distribute evenly between the two sides – a “perfect twist” if you will. 

Sadly, this wasn’t to be. The study found that, if it does get split evenly, it’s not because of the twist, but more to do with how the creme is stuck when produced, shipped, or stored.

"That’s just not how the physics works,” the study's lead author Crystal Owens said.

Why, science? Why? 

This inspiration for the Oreometer started when Crystal was little.  

She told CNN she’d try to twist the wafers to split evenly on both halves, which she believes tastes best. 

Now a mechanical engineering researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, Crystal used her knowledge to try and crack the Oreo code, but to no avail. 

She says she thinks about the research every time she has an Oreo now and hopes it will get people outside of the mechanical engineering field curious about it. 

"I hope people can use this information to improve their cookie eating when they twist open an Oreo, or when they dunk it in milk," she told CNN. 

Header Image: Arturo Esparza via Unsplash