Have We Really Been Slicing Cake The Wrong Way?
Well, everyone. It looks like we’ve been cutting our cakes ALL wrong, because according to a 108 year-old scientific cake-cutting method, slicing individual triangles is not the way to go. In fact, when we dig into a cake without completely polishing it off, we allow the cake to dry up, and dry cake is just NOT acceptable. Alex Bellos, a math blogger for the Guardian, has solved this conundrum for us cake eaters without a glass cake cloche, Tupperware cake taker, or plastic wrap.
It all started when Bellos conveniently found an ancient letter from 1906. The letter was composed by Francis Galton, a half-cousin of Charles Darwin. In it, he described the method of “cutting a round cake on scientific principles.” Basically, The Galton Way is to slice all the way down the middle so that your slice is long, but thin, and to push the two remaining halves back together so that they seal in moisture. Ballos’ ingenuity also involves rubber bands, which you fit around the cake so that it doesn’t fall apart. See for yourself:
Okay. While I think this is just super, I’ve been seeing articles titled “You’ve Been Cutting Your Cake The Wrong Way Forever,” and “This Is How You Need To Cut Your Cake,” which is just so bizarre to me. Not that cake-slicing methodology exists, but that a superior cake-slicing method has been knighted, and we all need to abandon our silly cake-cutting ways once and for all.
A pretty big issue that Bellos does NOT identify, is the fact that unless you’re eating an entire cake by yourself, this strategy is not cake-friendly for those who would like equal pieces. Also, I can’t imagine slicing a cake down the middle like that works for a buttercream frosting spread. It just seems like a lot of excessive work for cake, right?
Ultimately, cake is cake. Slice it however you want. Don’t slice it at all and eat it with a spoon like solidified soup. Freeze it. Eat it with your hands. I do believe you can have your cake and eat it too (whichever way you like).
(Featured image Shutterstock)
