Nutcrackers have become a fixture of Christmas decoration, but their true function has surprised some.
The true function of nutcrackers is implicit in their name.
People have expressed their amazement on social media after learning that nutcrackers are used to shatter nuts.
Given the name of the figure, it may seem clear, but so many people have missed the obvious.
“‘Are you saying that nutcrackers can in fact shatter nuts?’ “-Me, Thanksgiving 2022,” tweeted one user.
“I’m bawling right now because I didn’t know that nutcrackers crack nuts,” added another.
“In fact, nutcrackers are used to shatter nuts… “I was years old today,” someone revealed.
“I was years old when I understood that nutcrackers are used to crack nuts,” one additional speaker said.
“DO NUTCRACKERS INDEED CRACK NUTS?! “SINCE WHEN IS THIS?” a person exclaimed.
Originally, nutcrackers were designed to crack nuts.
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One TikTok user stated he was “today years old” when he realized the nutcracker’s true purpose.
He titled his video “the nut buster,” implying that he had solved the matter.
“The clue is in the name,” someone joked in the comments.
“I’m shocked by how many people don’t already know this,” commented another.
Another TikTok user commented on the revelation, writing, “I probably sound so foolish, but yesterday my mind was blown.”
The Nutcracker Museum reports that by the 15th century, woodcarvers in France and England were creating intricately carved nutcrackers that resembled humans and animals.
The modern nutcracker figurine, which resembles toy soldiers with buttoned blazers and top hats, did not appear until the nineteenth century.
German carpenter Wilhelm Füchtner, also known as the “father of the nutcracker,” was the first to commercially make the nutcracker in 1872, drawing inspiration from the nutcracker in Heinrich Hoffmann’s story “The King Nutcracker and Poor Reinhold.”
The premiere of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” ballet in 1892 has maintained yearly interest in the figurine.
The ballet’s location on Christmas Eve is said to be the reason why the nutcracker has been synonymous with Christmas.
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