When you twist an Oreo, why does the ‘cream’ always stick to one side? MIT has the answer.
One of the world's greatest mysteries has finally been solved.

Delicious Oreo cookies.
There are a lot of snack foods people eat ritualistically. When I get a Twix bar I like to eat the caramel or peanut butter topping first and then the cookie wafer second. The cookie part is so delicious that I have to savor it by itself.
Some folks have a ritual with Reese's peanut butter cups where they eat the top layer of chocolate and then swipe out the peanut butter center with their tongue.
When it comes to Oreo cookies, few people eat the cookie all at once. Many prefer to deconstruct the cookie by twisting the black wafer sides and then licking out the creme off of each side. Part of the fun is attempting to twist the cookie and have an even amount of creme on each side of the wafer—a feat that is nearly impossible.
(Note: The white center of an Oreo cookie is made with what Nabisco refers to as “creme,” not cream because it isn’t made with any dairy.)
People have been perplexed for decades over why almost all of the creme always ends up sticking to one side of the separated cookie. The phenomenon is so mysterious that the brilliant minds at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took up the monumental task of pursuing the answer.
“When I was little, I tried twisting wafers to split the cream evenly between the wafers so there’s some on both halves — which in my opinion tastes much better than having one wafer with a lot of creme and one with almost none. This was hard to do when I was trying it by hand,” Crystal Owens, lead author of a study published Tuesday in the journal American Institute of Physics and a researcher in mechanical engineering at MIT, said according to CBS Boston.
“There’s the fascinating problem of trying to get the creme to distribute evenly between the two wafers, which turns out to be really hard,” says Max Fan, an undergraduate in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
To figure out why the creme always sticks to one side, researchers developed the Oreometer, a device that rotates and splits the cookie with an identical amount of torque on each wafer. Researchers found that the amount of torque needed to split a cookie was equivalent to the pressure needed to twist a doorknob.
The team subjected the cookies to standard rheology tests and found that the creme center almost always stuck to just one side of the cookie. The only time they could get the creme to be distributed evenly is when the box of cookies was older.
The researchers realized that the dominant wafer is determined when the cookie is manufactured.
“Videos of the manufacturing process show that they put the first wafer down, then dispense a ball of cream onto that wafer before putting the second wafer on top,” Owens said. “Apparently that little time delay may make the cream stick better to the first wafer.”
Mystery solved.
The good news is that if you‘ve been trying for years to master the perfect twist that results in evenly distributed creme and failed, you’re not the problem, it’s the cookie. The odds were stacked against you and you didn’t know it.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.