Engineer and YouTuber Allen Pan turned a famous superhero fantasy into a real world engineering experiment.

 

Engineer and YouTuber Allen Pan turned a famous superhero fantasy into a real world engineering experiment.

Inspired by Thor's legendary hammer, Mjölnir, Pan wanted to create a version that appeared impossible for ordinary people to lift. Instead of relying on movie magic, he used technology.

Inside the hammer, he installed a powerful electromagnet powered by batteries. When the hammer was placed on a large metal surface, such as a steel plate hidden beneath a manhole cover, the magnet locked the hammer in place with tremendous force. To anyone trying to pick it up, the hammer felt completely stuck.

The cleverest part of the design was hidden in the handle. Pan added a fingerprint scanner that acted like a real-life "worthiness" test. When his registered fingerprint was detected, the electromagnet switched off, allowing him to lift the hammer effortlessly. Anyone else attempting the same thing found the hammer nearly impossible to move.

Videos of the experiment quickly spread online, with strangers repeatedly attempting and failing to lift the hammer before watching Pan casually pick it up himself.

The creation became one of the internet's most memorable examples of combining engineering, creativity, and a little bit of superhero inspired fun.