Life

You've Been Peeling Oranges Wrong Your Whole Life

Good news! I found your next party trick. Forget about uncorking a champagne bottle with a knife or sticking your whole fist in your mouth — if you really want to blow your friends' minds, simply show them how to peel an orange the right way . You heard me, my friends. We've all been toiling away under the false pretense that there's only one way to peel an orange, and that's by shoving our fingernails between its skin and its fleshy insides. Not only does this totally botch your manicure, but it also seems like a pretty undignified way for an orange to die.

Last week, a similar revelation about peeling bananas made me wonder what else I could've been doing more efficiently my whole life. And, as it were, further exploration turned up plenty o' things I had no idea I was doing wrong. I thought I'd been a champ at tying my shoelaces since grade school. Nope! Coulda been doing it better. Same goes for eating with chopsticks and using paper towels. While some people aren't keen on being told they've been doing something wrong — hey, you do you — I welcome such epiphanies. I'm all for anything that makes life a little easier or makes me look (even) cooler.

While this hack has made the rounds on the Interwebz before, I was definitely still in the dark about it and, if you're reading this, you were too. So I'm gonna go ahead and do you the solid no one did for me by sharing the secret to peeling an orange the right way. All it takes are these three easy steps... although it is worth mentioning one apparent caveat: This trick works best with smaller varieties of oranges, such as mandarins, Clementines, tangerines, Satsumas, and Seville Soars. I think it has something to do with the flexibility of the peel, but that's pure conjecture on my part.

In any event, here's how the magic works:

1. Slice Both Sides Off

Holding your orange firmly, use a knife to slice off both sides. Or its top and bottom, if you will. Can I get a ruling on that? I'm no expert in orange anatomy.

2. Cut A Slit

Working perpendicular to the ends you lopped off, take your knife and cut a slice in the orange all the way across the rind.

3. Gently Roll That Bad Boy Out

All that's left to do now is to roll your accordion (or caterpillar) of an orange out and marvel at your insane life skills. You can eat it, too. That's always an option.

Check out the full video by Diply below for a more detailed look at this clever trick. Mind blown, right?

Images: Diply (3); Giphy