Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher: The Egg Lover's Ultimate Kitchen Tool

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Although its name couldn't be more difficult to pronounce, this stainless steel gadget of German origin makes it easier to open and peel soft- or hard-boiled eggs. One of those useful kitchen tools you may not have heard of, the eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher is a combination of the words eierschale, meaning "eggshell," sollbruchstelle, meaning "predetermined breaking point," and verursacher, meaning "causer." Sometimes, the device is called by the much shorter name of eierköpfer, which, humorously enough, translates to "egg beheader" or "egg decapitator." Whatever you call it, once you try it, there's a good chance it will become one of those handy boiled egg hacks you'll use forever.

The gadget consists of a long, thin rod with a conical cap at one end that fits atop the egg, along with a sliding ball that, when dropped, generates just enough force to crack the shell in a perfect circle around the top, without damaging the rest of the shell or the egg inside. This enables quick, hassle-free peeling with your fingers or a knife. Sometimes, it's even easier than that, as the top of the shell comes off along with the metal cap when it's lifted. For the soft-boiled variety, which happens to be Martha Stewart's favorite way to eat eggs, the eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher cracks the shell at the perfect point for eating with a spoon. Additionally, some models, including PROKITCHEN's, are advertised as suitable for cracking raw eggs.

You may be wondering how such a niche device came into being in the first place. Boiled eggs are traditionally a favorite breakfast food among the Germans, so many of them sought something like this because they were likely to use it on a daily basis. The eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher was invented in 1999 by Take2, a German design agency. 

While the eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher is a useful gadget for anyone seeking a faster, neater way to crack and peel eggs, it's typically regarded as more of a novelty item or specialized tool for cooking nerds than a kitchen necessity. Some people buy it just for the fun of saying the name and hearing others try to do the same. Even some Germans confess to seeing the eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher as more of a silly joke than anything else, writing on social media that they typically just use a spoon or a knife or peel their eggs by hand. Others say they initially viewed it as a gag gift but found it so effective that they now swear by it. 

Because it allows one-handed operation, the tool is especially helpful for those who are disabled, injured, or unable to use two hands for other reasons. They simply slide the ball up to the top of the rod, place the cup over the top of the egg, and then let go of the ball and let gravity do its work. One person's joke is another's genius!