Culture

Autumnal Equinox: Can We Balance Eggs Today?

by Alyzee | September 22, 2009 at 10:01 am

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Today is the autumnal equinox, the beginning of fall and the official end of summer for the Northern Hemisphere. The autumnal equinox occurs when the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from, nor toward the Sun, resulting in a day with approximately 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

The autumnal equinox will take place at 5:18 Eastern Daylight Time.

Many believe that during equinoxes, both autumnal and spring (vernal) that balancing eggs is very easy because of the all 'the balance in the air':

While we’re at it, here’s one more myth for you: During the autumnal equinox, it’s easier to balance an egg. The thinking goes something like this: the gravity is equal, the hours of day and night are equal, and there’s all sorts of balance in the air.

People have been trying to balance eggs on the autumnal and spring equinoxes for years. Sorry to spoil anyone's fun, but it must be said that although eggs are hard to balance because of the liquid yolk sloshing around inside it, it is reportedly possible to balance an egg with some dedicated effort any day of the year.

"Rarely does a year go by in which a local TV station doesn't send a reporter out to a neighborhood park to capture images of people decidedly placing eggs on the ground and watching in amazement as the eggs stand on end. Rarely do we see any new stories reporting that this same feat can be achieved every other day of the year as well."

The myth comes from a Chinese legend that believed eggs could be easily balanced only on the first day of spring, also the start of the Chinese solar calendar. In 1945, the idea was spread by an article in Life magazine, fox2127 reports.