Why do people slice an opening on the potato when boiling it? Some poke a hole.

Curiosity got me on this one. I hunted and hunted and found nothing.

I wonder if it's "old wives tale" (aka urban legend)

Imagine putting an egg into the microwave without taking it out of the shell and putting a hole in the yolk - it will explode.

The same principle is thought of with potatoes - they develop so much inner heat that they could explode or crack open and most people like their potatoes without those nasty looking cracks in them.

You need to do this especially when using the microwave because of that explosion risk.

That's the background - I'm not a scientist, so am not getting any more technical.

Hope this helped.

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15/15_9_16.gif

I never heard this one before- except when microwaving a potato- I boil them without piercing them- find they turn soggy if they are sliced or pierced in anyway..