Standing a hard-boiled egg on end has something to do with...

<< Back to: alt.folklore.urban Frequently Asked Questions [Part 1 of 5]

Answer by Brasshopper
Submitted on 5/5/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
The claim is that, during the equinox, an uncooked hen's egg can be balanced on the large end, on a smooth surface, and that this cannot be done at other times. You see this story repeated every equinox in some places. I recall human interest stories on local TV news in New York City were they showed school children trying to balance eggs. The claim is that due to Coriolis forces (See http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/coriolis_effect.html) that an egg cannot be balanced on the large end on days which are not the equinox. Of course, Coriolis forces are happening all the time since the earth never stops spinning or revolving around the sun. But the pseudo-science claims that the during the equinox that these forces are in some special balance. There is a variation of this that claims that one can stand an egg on its end during an eclipse because gravitational forces are lined up. The rest of the story claims that on the day of the equinox, or perhaps only near noon on the equinox, that the Coriolis forces are aligned well enough that the egg can be balanced. The reality is that an egg can be stood on its end at almost any time - allow the egg to rest long enough to allow the contents to settle and do it slowly. The Coriolis forces on something as small as an egg are so small that almost everything that you can notice in your environment is larger. The wind from your exhalation or through the window is much larger, as is the residual spin on the contents based on whether you turned left or right as you got the egg out of the fridge. If you think about the direction of the axis of rotation as compared to the direction of the axis of revolution about the sun, they never really line up at all. http://www.clarkfoundation.org/astro-utah/vondel/equinoxver.html contains a reasonably good debunking which also includes some of the history of this myth.

FAQS.ORG makes no guarantees as to the accuracy of the posts. Each post is the personal opinion of the poster. These posts are not intended to substitute for medical, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. FAQS.ORG does not endorse any opinion or any product or service mentioned mentioned in these posts.

<< Back to: alt.folklore.urban Frequently Asked Questions [Part 1 of 5]

[ Home | FAQ-Related Q&As | General Q&As | Answered Questions ]

Question by Katie
Submitted on 10/23/2003
Related FAQ: alt.folklore.urban Frequently Asked Questions [Part 1 of 5]
Rating:	Rate this question:
Standing a hard-boiled egg on end has something to do with an equinox.... is this true???

Your name or nickname:
If you'd like to create a new account or access your existing account, put in your password here:
Your answer: