Maths professor, Hannah Fry claims there is a ‘scientifically legitimate way’ to unscrew annoyingly tight lids from jars – and you don’t need to possess any strength whatsoever
If your someone that struggles to open jars of food and sauces such is there apparent industrial-strength tightness, you may wish to heed the advice of a Cambridge University maths professor who claims there is a simple method for doing so. Hannah Fry claims it’s a case of “brains over brawn” and “breath over biceps” in order to succeed.
“You know when you can’t open a jar?” she began in a TikTok video. “There is actually a scientifically legitimate trick here that means you will never have to struggle again.” Holding a jar aloft to showcase her technique, Hannah advised her followers to simply “forcibly breathe out” whilst twisting the lid.
She went on to explain the science: “The reason why this works is that your arm is this floppy little noodle that’s lolling around all over the place and it’s attached to your torso, which is also extremely floppy.”
As such, Hannah pointed out that as such, the arm has to put a lot of effort into stabilising itself, but that same energy is what is required to open the lid.
“So one thing you can do is take a deep breath in and hold your breath – filling your lungs with air – and increasing the pressure in your internal cavity, basically turning your torso into this really stiff cylinder and a stable base of support to lift from,” she continued.
Hannah claimed the technique is one that is used by weightlifters and in fact it’s something we all “instinctively do” when performing something strenuous.
“You can go further than this because specifically, when you’re opening a jar, you are creating this twisting motion, which has to be countered by your shoulder and your spine,” she added alongside a snap of a skeletal diagram.
“The muscles you need to counter that twist are your internal obliques and your transverse abdominis – and you know what muscles get engaged when you happen to do a big, forced exhale? It’s exactly the same ones.”
The professor concluded by advising that when you make this forced exhale, you are “priming your body and locking your base of support” to allow all of your energy to go into the jar.
Writing in response, one person who has adopted the method reported: “I always do the breathe out method and it really works. Now I know the reason that’s cool.”
A second TikTok user noted: “We don’t just breathe out during lifting, it’s also why we wear lifting belts. We brace against the belt for stability.”
Whilst similarly, a third explained: “The term is Valsalva breathing. It’s why weight lifters often pass out after the heavy lift because they usually aren’t breathing during the lift to push against the lifting belt.”
And a fourth individual said: “Same principal in sports like tennis, rotational strength – we’re taught to breath out on the shot, which means you have to breath in first.”
Why not try it for yourself and let us know in the comments section if it worked for you?
