Strong-arm Science

by Kevin J. Lin

Did you know that science has the power to crush an aluminum can? Well, of course you probably did. They're simply not that strong.

Nevertheless, your challenge is to crush an empty 12 ounce soda can.

To make this challenge interesting, here are the rules:

During the challenge, you may not physically touch the can.

In fact, the only thing that can touch the can for one minute preceding, during, and one minute following the crushing are:

Air
A single wooden chopstick
Non-frozen water

So you can't put the can on the floor and stab it to death with the chopstick. Because that would mean the can was touching the floor during the crushing, which is illegal.

And finally, anything else you want to use must be found in the average bachelor's kitchen. Which rules out a fire hose.

See the Solution