The viral clip is from "Schlag den Henssler," which ran from 2016 to 2017. Splitting things in half was one of many challenges featured in the game.
Since February 2024, American social media accounts dedicated to sharing memes have been getting viral views out of a video of a German game show in which contestants apparently attempt to split objects into perfect halves.
Like the example from X below, the clip is usually shared alongside the text, "There is a German TV show where contestants try to split things perfectly in half." The same clip is popular on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram as well.
The video is real, and it comes from a real German game show. However, splitting objects in half is only a minor component of the overall game.
As can be seen from logos shown on the scale featured in the video, the show is titled "Schlag den Henssler" — "Beat the Henssler" in English — a reference to the show's host Steffen Hennsler.
Schlag den Henssler was a reboot of a popular and long-running game show "Schlag den Raab," hosted by Stefan Raab. Hennsler, a TV chef, hosted a short-lived revival of the show from 2017 to 2018. He is the individual shown perfectly halving a soft pretzel in the viral clip.
The premise in each of these shows was that a contestant partly chosen by its viewers competed against the host in a smorgasbord of obscure challenges or games that varied from episode to episode. Splitting things in half was one such challenge.
Presently a version of this show's format lives on in a format where contestants compete against celebrities — "Schlag den Star."
Because the clip authentically shows a real German game show in which contestants are halving things with precision, but because that is not the sole focus of that show, Snopes rates the claim "Mostly True."