This Guy Invented a Special Lock to Stop People Stealing His Nutella

Ah, communal living. It should be so easy: a group of adult human beings existing within four walls of each other, sharing in domestic duties and housemate camaraderie.

In reality, three months down the line and the "totally chill roomies" described in the Gumtree ad are washing up-averse, perpetual students with borderline personality disorders. But y'know what's worse than toilet roll hoarding and passive aggressive notes? Food theft.

It starts off innocently enough—maybe Katie took a dash of your milk, perhaps Gary really needed a slice (or three) of toast this morning, but before you know it, those vultures sense weakness and make a beeline for the good stuff. That's right, brace yourself for the day that you come home to find someone's pilfering fingers have been scraping the inside of your Nutella jar.

Oh, the horror.

One man who must have had his fair share of sticky fingered housemates is Daniel Schobloch.

A German furniture and fittings specialist, Schobloch has invented a "Nutella Lock" that fits onto jars and prevents flatmates, children, or any other morally bankrupt subspecies from accessing the chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Speaking to German news site The Local by email, Schobloch explained: "The idea started out as a joke. One of my friends was always getting worked up because his children were stealing his Nutella."

The acrylic device works by clamping over the top of the Nutella jar and fastening on one side with a padlock, preventing the lid from being twisted off. Schobloch began selling the Nutella Locks on eBay for 9.99 euros but soon sold out of his initial stock and has shifted nearly 1,000 to date.

With the (not entirely founded) threat of a world Nutella shortage and warnings from France's Ecology Minister to cut back or risk destroying the rainforest, maybe keeping your supply of the spread under lock and key isn't such a bad idea.

The site of a Nutella jar clamped in a steadfast plastic grip certainly looks threatening enough to scare off government ministers and would-be thieves, but Schobloch says that the Nutella Lock probably isn't an entirely failsafe security device.

"Acrylic is easy to break into," he added to The Local.

Looks like you'll just have to finish that entire, family-size jar of Nutella to yourself before anyone else gets to it, then.