14 DAY TRIAL // Space exploration is nothing short of admirable but, every once in a while, scientists find that they must take a break from pursuing such noble causes and answer more mundane questions.
Not to beat about the bush, a team of scientists in Japan have spent a total of four months investigating what the best way to eat a hamburger is.
They now say that, after carrying out extensive research, they have finally been able to come up with an answer to this most pressing question, which has been troubling mankind for years.
According to these Japanese brainiacs, the secret is knowing where to place one's little fingers and one's thumbs, Daily Mail reports.
Some people choose to place their thumbs beneath the hamburger, and their fingers on top, the same source details.
Apparently, these people could not be more wrong, and are therefore very likely to get sauce, salad and whatnot over their hands, clothes, maybe even their date.
As shown in the picture next to this article, the secret to eating a hamburger without having about half of your meal end up on the floor it to use the three middle fingers to secure the top.
The little fingers and the thumbs, on the other hand, must be placed beneath the hamburger, and therefore used to support it.
Other secrets to ensuring that one can enjoy a hamburger without making a mess are not squeezing it too tightly, and doing some exercise, i.e. opening and closing one's mouth a few times, before actually biting into it.
The researchers carried out this fairly peculiar investigation at the request of a Japanese television show dubbed “Honma Dekka!?”
In order to be able to determine with the highest degree of accuracy what the best and least messy way to feast on a hamburger is, they scanned out such a treat in 3D, and then analyzed the resulting images to figure out how its elements interacted with one another.