Sunday, March 20, 2011

can you really balance an egg on its end?


Today is the Vernal Equinox ( Vernal meaning "spring" and Equinox meaning "equal night"); which is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  Many of us here on the East Coast have been looking forward to spring after a very long, cold, snowy winter!  Yesterday I was having a conversation with my family about how it has been said that on the Equinox it is supposed to be easier to balance an egg on its end than any other day of the year!  I must admit, I have tried it in the past and had no luck...but it did get me thinking, so I decided to get to my computer this morning and start a "Google" search!  I found many scientific explanations...but perhaps I can best sum it up like this.  "This Vernal Equinox is one of the two times during the year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and the spin axis of the Earth points 90 degrees away from the sun. The premise is that aligning the gravitational pull of the Sun with that from the center of the Earth should somehow make it easier to balance any object." (courtesy of Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D)

So tonight I think I may give it another try...why not?  I have a dozen fresh eggs in the fridge from the farmers market...and what if it actually works?  What do you believe?  Have you ever given this little test a try?  Or perhaps you may think it's just another urban legend?

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