# Why are these people breaking the cookies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841 "2009-06-24T15:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841/21 "2009-06-25T11:05:52Z")
Personally, I blame the smiley faces. I would sneak in early and break every one of them. Try putting the pieces back together, and see if there are actually missing pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841/22 "2009-06-25T13:47:35Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Everything comes in carboard boxes. Wax paper is used to separate the cookies. > > [Here’s one of the cookies I ate about a month ago](http://bp1.blogger.com/_wYqnoC0R_pw/SCsYNA38nrI/AAAAAAAAB_o/apVlWm844C4/s320/IMG00042.JPG). That’s a small plate, not a regular sized one, I’m not that fat, I’m just retaining water… > > …In my fat cells. That’s a creepy-looking cookie. No wonder people break them; it’s a defense mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841/23 "2009-06-25T18:32:26Z")
Are they soft enough that you could bite into one and leave a mouth shaped hole in them? I would start doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841/24 "2009-06-25T20:51:55Z")
I don’t think I could sleep, knowing there was half a cookie in the house. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841/25 "2009-06-26T10:40:33Z")
> [@JonathanTheRed](#): > > Of course not; the calories leak out when you break 'em. According to my husband, this also applies to breadsticks and rolls. He will take half of a bread stick, for instance, or a third of a roll. If I leave the broken one and take a whole fresh one, he’ll take the other half or two thirds of the item. I don’t know why he feels compelled to leave part of it in the community dish, when we all know that he’ll eat the whole thing eventually, and nobody else wants it, either. If I don’t want to eat the whole roll, I don’t eat it, but I leave it on my plate. Either I’m with family, who will ask if I’m leaving it, or I’m with non-family, in which case nobody wants my leftovers anyway. I do cut a piece off the loaf of bread that some restaurants serve, and just put the piece on my plate. I don’t break the bread because it’s much too crusty for that. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841/26 "2009-06-26T11:06:36Z")
The factual answer is cookies are breakable. That is why they are broken. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841/27 "2009-06-26T14:16:47Z")
> [@jellyblue](#): > > From your picture, it looks like a pretty big cookie. I could see only wanting to eat half of it. I reminds me of this _enormous_ 120 calorie “healthy” cookie I bought once. Sounded good until you looked at the nutritional label: Serving size - 3. :eek: > > One more unmentioned possibility: if you take 54% of the Happy Cookie, you feel marginally less bad about also scarfing down 100% of the chocolate donut as well. Mmm…variety! Yeah, those are huge cookies, IMO. I’d take half of one - but if someone already broke one, I’d take an already broken piece, though, not break a new, whole one. I don’t see what’s so odd about wanting to save calories by taking half of a really big cookie - maybe if I eat the whole thing, it will make me feel sluggish, or maybe I want to be able to eat my whole lunch, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-these-people-breaking-the-cookies/500841.md?page=1)