easy activity for children likewise these tools might also be packaged individually or in sets and may enable pleasant social or family events where nuts and other foods are served as suggested above many types of pivots are possible in a second exemplary tool 20 shown in fig8 and 9 the tool legs 28 pivot about and are joined by a flexible hinge 29 the articulable motion is restricted through the use of a retaining pin 24 that slides in a slot 26 formed in a bracket 25 thus the positions shown in fig8 and 9 are those just after molding of the tool 20 placing the tool in operating configuration is done by bringing legs 28 together by the flexible hinge 29 and aligning and inserting the flared portion of pin 24 to the widened portion of slot 26 as in the first example tool 20 includes separating tips 21 which may be inserted into the crack of a nutshell such as a pistachio nutshell in the operating configuration hinge 29 biases legs 28 apart which brings tips 21 subtantially together in the resting position i e with no manual pressure applied to separate tips 21 a consumer squeezes against legs 28 which move together and thereby increases the distance between the tips 21 again tips 21 need not be perfectly aligned but rather some force may be required to bring tips together for nutshell insertion the.