Need a simple new party trick for the weekend? A former NASA engineer has the perfect way to confuse people into thinking you can skin a watermelon in a new video (below).
Mark Rober, is more than just somebody who used to work for NASA -- he is a passionate uncle who enjoys tricking his younger family members, and he has come up with the perfect new party trick where he shows off what he says is a skinned watermelon, reports the Huffington Post.
It turns out that the "skinned watermelon" is actually two watermelons put together to create the unusual effect. In the 4-minute video uploaded Monday, which currently has almost 14,540,000 views, Rober shows how easy it is to create the illusion with two watermelons that are a similar shape and size.
He starts by using a knife to carefully cut the rind off of the first watermelon.
"You want to make a bunch of shallow cuts until there is no green left," he explains.
For the next step, Rober says to "harness your inner fruit ninja" and slice off any white corners, trying to make the watermelon as round and smooth as possible.
The watermelon still shows evidence that he cut it with a knife, so he takes a brand-new scrubbing sponge, what he calls "watermelon sandpaper," and buffs it out until the fruit is smooth and shiny.
"The second watermelon is pretty straightforward," he explains. "Just cut it in two halves and gut it using your favorite method" -- preferably into a dish to eat later, he says.
Make sure to carve out the second watermelon as cleanly as possible. Then put the watermelon back together, chill it in the refrigerator, and trick people into thinking you can skin a watermelon.
Rober has shared a ton of other tricks on his YouTube channel Creativity Design Science, including a step-by-step tutorial for a quick "no mess" watermelon smoothie inside of a watermelon and how to craft an ugly Christmas sweater featuring a realistic-looking fire, notes the Huffington Post.