Urban Dictionary defines pickle jar as a term "used to describe a place full of men." Although I respect Urban Dictionary for being a world-renowned, reputable source, I'm going to have to disagree with this one. I think that most of us, when we hear the words "pickle jar," picture this:

A pickle jar is a jar that was once empty but is now full of pickles and pickle juice. The age old question: What's the deal with these pickle jars, anyway? Why are they so friggin hard to open? This is an age-old struggle, dating back centuries.

We all remember this iconic painting depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Little known fact: the original version included a pickle jar, however, Thomas Jefferson demanded its removal from the artwork, because he didn't want the general public to know that he couldn't open it. He thought that this information would have hurt his image... and he was right.

Abraham Lincoln was a president who famously struggled with opening pickle jars. And well, we all know what happened to him.

What, too soon? This is the truth, my friends, and sometimes the truth hurts.

Next is this image from the Civil War. Southern troops struggled to open jars of pickles, and this lost them enough battles to ultimately make them lose the Civil War. As to "how," the details are spotty, but things will be easier if you just accept this as a fact and move on.

This iconic photograph shows that the pickle jar dilemma isn't just an American problem. Depicted here is a frustrated German citizen on one side of the Berlin Wall. This picture captures a man just before he smashed his giant pickle jar on the other side of the wall in a moving act of protest.

Vladamir Putin is one of many world leaders today who struggle to open a pickle jar. Sad!

Patrick Star, of Nickelodeon's Spongebob, was one of many such prominent historical figures who struggled to open a pickle jar. He, however, was one of the few who was able to ultimately accomplish this difficult feat.

A website called "The Art of Manliness" (sounds amazing) shared a groundbreaking list, giving five different methods to open a jar of pickles (http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/01/19/how-to-op...):

1. Brute force. This technique simply requires you to use your manly strength to twist open the jar lid.
2. Wrap the lid in a dish towel or rubber glove.
3. Break the vacuum seal.
4. Run the lid under hot water.
5. Tap the lid with a spoon.

Clearly, Hillary Clinton used this technique when she was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show in August of 2016. As seen in the GIF below, Clinton used method one, brute force, to accomplish what so few have before.

So, what is the deal with pickle jars? Is opening one like pulling Excalibur from the rock, or is it a feat that has grown commonplace over time? Unfortunately, there is no definite answer. What I do know is that the world is a better place because of the challenge that pickle jars pose, and a world without pickle jars is truly one in which I would not want to live.