I am the egg man, coo coo ca-choo.
I’m Dan, and I’ve been designing kitchen gadgets
for 39 years.
I’m gonna test some egg gadgets
and see if I can find a way to make them better.
You make this a little bit taller.
Adding a rubber gasket like this.
Have something come out like that.
These are the products I am going to test.
Scrambled egg maker.
Egg top cracker.
Egg Stripper.
YolkFish Egg Separator.
Eggstractor.
[upbeat music]
Scrambled egg maker,
this device is designed to scramble an egg
while it is still in the shell.
You know, just in case your kitchen doesn’t have a fork.
Let’s test its effectiveness.
Step one, is to pull these two halves apart.
And let me see if I can get that to work.
Okay, the egg obviously sits inside.
I will place it and see if I can reassemble.
It’s not that easy or clear.
I think the egg is in.
Let’s give it some spins.
[air hissing]
Okay, I’m gonna give it about 20 spins.
[air hissing]
Nothing else you get some exercise.
[air hissing]
Okay, I think we’re good.
Let’s disassemble.
Let’s crack it open and see what we got.
Well, not very scrambled.
That wasn’t great, let’s try another one.
This time let’s give it more than 20 spins.
Let’s give it like 30 or 40.
Not only to scramble the egg but I could use the exercise.
[air hissing]
Okay, let’s disassemble.
Grab a bowl, crack it open.
Oh, and that time we got a scrambled egg.
Maybe the second time is the charm.
Let’s assume by change you don’t have a scrambled egg maker,
we’re gonna try it with just using a whisk.
[upbeat music]
In terms of effectiveness on a scale of one to five,
I would give it a 3.5.
Boy, it took a little bit of work.
To test usability, I’m gonna do the left handed oil test.
By making my non dominant hand more slippery
it’s gonna highlight any deficiencies
or areas for improvement.
First of all, I’m having trouble just holding this.
And I think we’re in trouble.
There’s really nothing to grab onto here.
It’s just a little way too slippery.
Let me try some brute strength here.
It’s not happening.
Giving up.
In terms of usability on a scale of one to five,
I would rate this a two,
only because this is way too fussy to line up.
Let’s see how I would suggest redesigning this.
Number one, I noticed with larger eggs
they didn’t exactly wanna fit.
So even though these fins are flexible.
larger eggs really resisted the task
of putting the two halves together.
Could be hard to see
but these two little teeth need to line up.
This is the bulb
and here actually is one of the white teeth,
and the other one.
I would make those huge.
Maybe even rounded
or in some shape that would actually allow them to be,
number one be obvious,
but also look like they’re two puzzle pieces
that need to come together.
And probably put those on both sides,
make that symmetrical.
Next thing I would do is change the shape
so that it has at least some flat surfaces,
or something that we could spin against each other.
Maybe make a flat here, even though it’s round,
give something to grab onto.
I know it’s egg shaped, which is kind of cute
but it also makes it difficult.
That or the fin itself could be shaped
so that’s it’s easier to grab
so that your fingers would not just slip right off of it.
Right, so I would take this ring piece,
it has small dimples in it
but I think I would really exaggerate those quite a bit.
What you want to happen is you want your fingers
to sink into something if you’re gonna open this lid.
And there are very small concave areas here,
that in theory is designed to get your fingers in there
but they’re really not very effective.
So what I would do on this
is just exaggerate those, like really exaggerate them.
Just so that you have something your fingers
can sink into them
and you have something to push against.
When you don’t have something to pull into like that
when your fingers don’t sink in,
you need to try to compensate by squeezing harder
to get some friction.
In terms of a buy rating,
I would give it a two out of five.
There is no real reason for this product to exist.
Egg top cracker,
it is designed to open up the top of an egg.
Let’s test how effective it is on a soft boiled egg.
Place it on top in the middle, pull up, let go.
Let’s see if we cracked it.
Not exactly.
Gonna give it another shot.
This time around, I’m gonna try the large side of the egg.
Release.
It’s not coming off in one piece.
The good news is, it is coming off
with a pretty straight clean line
around the edge of the egg.
But it does take some extra peeling.
Once done though, it is pretty presentable looking.
It’s pretty round.
Let’s try one more.
Again, I think I’m having better luck
with the large sides of the egg.
And similar, it takes some peeling,
it doesn’t just pop off like a hat.
But in the end it ends up with a pretty clean round cut.
So if you’re into soft boiled eggs,
I’d say this works okay.
You know, lately actually I’ve been eating soft boiled eggs.
It was kinda fun to eat out of an egg cup like this.
It’s a nice presentation.
Even if you’re in a hurry in the morning.
So let’s say there’s a chance
that your kitchen doesn’t have an egg top cracker,
what’s it like to do with a knife?
Let’s compare.
[upbeat music]
In term of effectiveness on a scale of one to five,
I would give this a four.
I think it has a little bit of room for improvement.
If nothing else it gives you
a pretty clean cut around the egg,
even if you have to go in and peel it.
It also has its fun aspect of cracking the egg open.
So it is kinda fun to use it.
To test usability, I’m gonna do the left handed oil test.
Both hands are slippery, I’m gonna use my left hand though
to raise the ball and release it.
No problem with that
because there’s no dexterity involved
in raising this and releasing it.
The result that time with this egg,
whoa, look at this.
It came out pretty easily.
Little bit of strength needed to pull up the spring
but really not very much at all.
In terms of usability on a scale of one to five,
I would give this a four.
This may be difficult for some people
who don’t have use of both hands
but this is pretty easily operated.
Let’s think about a redesign.
Right now it looks like this
and when the ball is extended we’re up here.
So what we have a shaft here and a spring.
I think what I would try is two things,
one I would make this a little bit taller,
which means the ball would end up here
and give a little more momentum.
At least give you the option
of pulling this up as far as needed to release it.
The other thing I think I would try
is the shape down here,
instead of just being a straight edge,
I think I would try a serrated edge,
or some scalloped edge,
or something that would start to break into the shell.
I’m wondering if that would actually
give a little more force
and be a little more effective
in breaking through the surface.
My buy rating for the egg top cracker,
on a scale of one to five, is five.
If you want to be more popular at breakfast
get an egg top cracker.
Do this in front of the family
and I think you have a pretty good family gathering
with everyone getting into soft boiled eggs.
Egg Stripper,
it is designed to strip the shell off of a hard boiled egg.
Let’s see how effective it is.
Step one, is to fill it up to the line with some water.
I’ve got three hard boiled eggs.
Twist it tight.
And let’s start shaking.
[eggs clacking]
So the good thing about being clear
is that we can see some progress,
if there is any progress.
And I can see the shell starting to crack.
[eggs clacking]
Although they’re not completely off,
they’re started pretty well.
They do peel pretty easily.
So I would say this is successful.
I feel like I’m gonna
give the third one a little more of a shake
and let’s see if we can get the shell of completely.
[water swishing]
[egg crackling]
Well, the shell is still intact.
Well, mostly intact.
No, it didn’t completely remove
but it definitely loosens.
If nothing else it gives the eggs a really good start.
Do you really need the Egg Stripper?
What if we use a normal jar?
So what I’ve got here is a clasp jar
and I’m gonna try the same thing.
[upbeat music]
In terms of effectiveness,
I would give the Egg Stripper a 3.5 out of five.
I really expected a little more magic.
I expected the eggs to be completely peeled
and that wasn’t the case.
It’s time for the left handed oil test.
I can see right away
that this is just a little bit difficult to pinch.
Place in three eggs.
Close it up, it’s a little more difficult
to close it up tightly.
This may leak, it doesn’t feel like it’s totally sealed
but let’s give it a try.
[egg crackling]
Yeah, you can tell it’s leaking a little more.
I wasn’t able to tighten the ring nearly
as tightly as I did before.
It is a little difficult to hold onto.
I feel like I need to hold this with two hands.
And I don’t think that’s really necessary.
I think this could be shaped
so that it’s possible to shake this with one hand.
So if I had my other hand free
at least I can eat some chips
or whatever else is on the table.
That came off okay, no problem
but we do have an egg casualty.
So I’d say it’s semi-successful,
at least two out of three eggs.
In terms of usability on a one to five scale,
I would give this a two.
The table’s pretty much a mess here.
Okay, let’s see how I would redesign the Egg Stripper.
A couple of things I think are very obvious,
one is that because it leaks so badly,
you would think there’d be a better seal
or better gasket around the rim.
And also a better way to tighten it.
So while this is just completely round,
as you’re spinning it it doesn’t give you anything
to push up against or grab onto.
I would add some shape to this,
either flat or in a couple places.
Do something like that
or maybe even have something come out like that.
So that you really have something to push against.
Because you really don’t want to start shaking this
and have water fly all over the place.
Also I think in terms of this shape,
egg shape also resist hanging onto.
I think I would look into making this usable
as a one hand operation.
So what that would mean
is I would mold something on here like that.
Kinda like a shape you would have on the lid of a pot,
like a really basic pot.
So that you can grab this like that, one handed.
Once you’re sure that it’s sealed up
you can start shaking away.
Should you buy an Egg Stripper?
In terms of a buy rating,
I would give this a one out of five.
It’s nice but it’s got some serious competition
from things that you probably already have in your kitchen.
Egg Stripper, I apologize, I only give you a one.
Please forgive me.
YolkFish egg separator,
its purpose in life is
to suck the yolk away from the egg white.
Okay, let’s see how effective it is.
Suck it up.
Whoop.
Had a bit of a failure there
because in sucking it up the yolk broke.
Cute fish, not that great at sucking eggs.
I think I may have squeezed the fish’s belly a bit
as I was pushing it up.
I’m gonna try again without squeezing the fish.
Gonna squeeze the fish.
Be careful not to break it.
Try to twist.
Get rid of that part of the white.
And…
success.
Good job fish.
I take all the blame.
Now, I’m gonna try separating the egg yolk the normal way
with my bare hands.
[upbeat music]
So I really like the fish
but for comparison I am going to try this another way.
Water bottle, fish.
[upbeat music]
Not as cute but just as effective.
In terms of effectiveness,
I would give the fish a five out of five.
It’s kinda fun, it’s kinda cute, I am into the fish.
Time for the left hand oil test.
I’m gonna use this one handed with my left hand.
Squeeze, pick it up.
It’s a little slippery but it’s okay.
There’s no weight involved, no force involved.
So that worked fine.
I think it’s all good.
In terms of usability I would give this a five out of five.
Basically just squeezing a rubber bulb
and it’s not difficult to do.
Okay, let’s talk about redesign,
I do like the fish but I do have a suggestion for it.
Nice little fish.
Fish will suck the yolk.
It’s got a fin on top, it’s got a fin on bottom.
I think the fish would benefit from a fin on the side
because when you’re holding this and unsqueezing it,
you need to unsqueeze but still keep this stable.
And I found myself, well it’s a little slippery, right.
‘Cause you are holding a shape
that is moving in that direction,
which means it’s easy for this to fall down.
I think having fins on the side
would give me something to pull up on without squeezing
And you don’t want to squeeze
’cause just a little bit of pressure
is gonna release the yolk
and possibly even break the yolk.
Goldie the suckerfish.
I named it.
In terms of buy rating,
I would give Goldie the suckerfish a five out five.
This is just too cute to pass up.
Good job, Goldie.
Thank you, very much.
Eggstractor.
Okay, so guess what this is?
You’re wrong.
This is designed to remove the shell from the egg
in one easy press.
Step one is to get a hard boiled egg
and there’s a pin on here.
I’m gonna make a hole
and I’m gonna do it a few times.
Crack the bottom.
Put this on top, give it some air pressure, hold tight.
Hmm, no, action yet.
Let’s give it another try.
Hmm, it’s not happening.
One more.
Maybe it’s a speed thing or maybe I’m not cracked enough.
Let me actually open this up a bit.
I know that’s a little cheating
but I want to see if this works at all.
Oh, well, I guess a couple of pushes
and the egg will pop out almost completely shelled
but not quite.
Let’s try one more time.
[egg tapping]
I’m not sure this is the quickest way
to shell a hard boiled egg.
Doesn’t really work.
Let’s see what happens by hand.
[upbeat music]
I would give the Eggstractor on a scale of one to five,
I would give it a zero.
I know there is no zero
but I just don’t see any reason for this product to exist.
Okay, left handed oil test time.
Use my left hand to push down.
So the good news is it works
just as bad with your left hand as your right hand.
It’s not bias to one hand or the other
or to a non dominant hand.
But I can’t get it to work in either situation.
In terms of usability on a one to five scale,
I would give this a zero.
Not the world’s greatest design.
If anything it’s consistent on how badly it works.
Well, in terms of a redesign,
the Eggstractor I believe needs a lot of work.
But for one thing I would take this corrugated shape
and I would make sure that the wall thickness here
of the plastic is thin enough
so that it doesn’t have so much tension
when you try to press it down.
The other thing I would do,
is now if you have an egg here,
what we have here is hard plastic.
But the egg easily goes out of whack
and this hard plastic creates air gaps.
Adding a rubber gasket like this,
which helps to cradle the egg
can keep the shell in place as the egg is ejected.
The device itself is rather large.
These feet are a bit slippery on a countertop.
And I think you’d want to stabilize this,
especially with the amount of force
that you make have to exert on this.
Better yet, would be some rubber feet.
Also, a three legged stool like this
is a little unstable.
I would give this four legs, maybe even five legs
just to increase the stability when pressure is applied.
In terms of a buy rating,
I would give the Eggstractor a big egg-shaped zero.
It just seems so unnecessary.
If I had to change anything about the design,
I would make it out of biodegradable plastic
because I think you’ll be throwing it away pretty quickly.
There are areas and opportunities
for innovation in the kitchen,
even with simple task like separating an egg.
But boy, some of these are really misfires.
The ones that worked are really kind of fun and clever.
They’re playful, they’re fun to do,
and you know, most importantly they work.
Out of the five, my two favorite
were the egg topper and the sucking fish.
Okay, okay.
See you soon.
See you soon.
