Shotgun a Beer with Just Your Thumb

Step 4 Pierce with thumbnail

Once you've got the dent made, quickly rock over onto your fingertip and engage your thumbnail with the can applying as much pressure as you can possibly exert. 

It sometimes takes a few tries to punch through in one spot.  If you're not having good luck putting your thumb through the can, try rotating the can to a new position (don't worry about where the mouth of the can is aimed at this point).

If you still aren't able to pierce through the can, try harder!  Grunt if you have to!  Visualize the strength of 1000 wild animals!

It took me 6 months to finally be able to do it from the first time I saw it done.  I'm no stronger now then I was then, so I think that one's mental approach has a lot to do with success or failure in can puncturing.  

Since then, I've seen many first timers pull it off, including many of the people in and around Squid Labs - and our thumbs are weak and delicate from all the typing we do!

Some things that helped me finally be able to break through the wall (literally) were:

• visualize that there is no can
• confidence is everything, attack it like you can do it, even if it's your first time
• try different types of cans - Coca Cola seemed to be the easiest, but I have no quantitative data to support this
• I didn't go this far, but doing some thumb exercises might help
• don't cut your finger nail for a few weeks and then try to do it
• if your nails are too long and are being bent back, cut them down a bit

Comments

[rekcah]

 REally?  I did it on my first try in like 5 seconds.

[SirBrittanicvs]

6 Months? Damn. I did it within 10 minutes of my first time trying, then a few times in a row on a few fateful nights.

Unfortunately, every time I try to do it again, namely when I want to show friends, it never works.