h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I thought it was time we had a thread on how to put the odds in your favour when you're cracker pulling.

When I was young I 'perfected' a system where I always made sure the other person was applying more pull. It may have been luck, but results showed that my success rate was better than luck would suggest.

Any comments on the science of winning at cracker-pulling, so I can up my strike rate this year?

You mean there's ladies coming to this thing?

Yeah I know an old joke but I couldn't resist.

I tend to go for the wishbone approach. By that I mean don't put much physical effort into pulling it, just hold it so that the other pullee puts in the most effort and breaks their side first.

Hold it as close to the cardboard roll as possible and grip extremely tightly. It works, except when both of you do it.

OK, I'll bite. What's cracker pulling?

Yeah I want to know too

Crackers are a traditional Christmas form of decoration/ entertainment.

They look like this

Typically about 20 cm long, with a cardboard cylindrical middle, covered in crepe paper with the ends twisted. They will also contain something which "snaps" or "cracks" when pulled apart.

To pull a cracker:

You need 2 people. Traditionally this ceremony is carried out during Christmas dinner. Each person grabs one end, and pulls as hard as they can until the crackers snaps open. The puller of the bigger half gets the contents. These are usually:

1. paper crown (which must be worn for the rest of the day)
2. very old joke
3. plastic moustache


It is possible to buy more expensive crackers with better quality contents, but that's not really the point of crackers...

Yay!!! Xmas crackers!!! I love them! Don't care if I win. The fun really is in the taking part! Yay for Xmas crackers!!!

I think you've answered your own question there... I find i win if i don't pull as hard as the other person, so i win a larger amount of times...

Justin

I wonder what the concept behind crackers' is?

http://www.didyouknow.cd/xmas/xmascrackers.htm

and to think, some creatures think are when all along its the humanoids, 'Cracker pulling', 'going crackers' perhaps

That makes me think:

Christmas ~ Crackers, absolutly no connection, it's one of these "get rich by flogging stuff at Christmas and hoping it becomes a tradition" schemes. It's the same with decidious trees and strings of lights!!!

We are exceedingly polite, after years of squabbling kids, each person has two by their place setting and regardless of who wins the owner of the cracker gets the contents.

We also have a , but this is when Cassie goes off on one of her mad half hours in the way that s do and nothing to do with two people trying to pull her in half.