So, a few months ago, or so, I got the idea that it would be easier, prior to baking, just to score my potatoes with a knife than to poke them with a fork. Knifes are easier to wash, and it takes less effort to score than to poke.
So, I did it, and the potatoes cooked a lot more nicely, too. (I don't wrap my potatoes in foil, just for the record; I let them get hides, and I typically eat the skins).
You can score a potato lots of times in lots of places, and it's still pretty easy. No more jamming in and yanking out forks. Yeah, the potatoes come out of the oven looking like crustacean abdomens or something, and they're quite tasty.
knife_fork_score_poke_bake_life_hacks