Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Egg-zactly Wrong

Hey:

My friends and I were talking the other day and the subject came around to the one day of the year that you can balance an egg on its end. My friend says that there is a day when the earth is in just the right position in the sky that you can stand an egg on its end and it won't fall over. When is this, and why does it happen?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- I'll Believe Anything, El Cajon

Yikes, Mr. Gullible. How the heck did the conversation get around to balancing eggs? Not that the story doesn't have legs. You hear it every year. For true believers, our annual egg-balancing festival is on March 21, the vernal equinox, when the sun passes over the equator. Bunk science. I was unable to trace the faulty facts back to any specific sources, but undoubtedly they are ancient. This particular theory has led the weak-minded among us to believe that on the vernal equinox, somehow all unseen forces in the universe (particularly the force of gravity) are in some mystical balance, allowing anyone so inclined to stand an egg on its end. By implication, then it should be impossible to balance that same egg on March 20 or March 22. And pins, knitting needles, ice cream cones, dollar bills, small children, all manner of other things should balance on point on March 21.

In the interest of thorough investigation, the steady-handed staff of the Matthew Alice Media Watchdog and Macrame Research Lab stood common uncooked chicken eggs on end on a table top virtually at will on January 15. (It helps if you use eggs that have well centered yolks.) It's easier to stand the eggs on their fat ends, though I've heard it's not impossible to stand them on their pointy ends too. We could only get that one to work on a carpet.

So consider the vernal equinox theory more bad science laid to rest. You should have been suspicious when nothing was said about the autumnal equinox, six months later, when, presumably gravitational forces would again be "in balance." And say, if you believe everything you hear, do you also believe everything you read? It's only a small leap of faith. If so, then consider this fact. If Matthew Alice answers your question in print on January 26, you'll have seven years' bad luck if you don't mail in a large check to show your gratitude.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

94th Aero Squadron – French farmhouse still works

Try the antinoise –tomatoes with olive oil dressing plus capers, garlic, toasted coriander seeds, basil, spring onions, salted anchovies
Next Article

Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?

Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.

Hey:

My friends and I were talking the other day and the subject came around to the one day of the year that you can balance an egg on its end. My friend says that there is a day when the earth is in just the right position in the sky that you can stand an egg on its end and it won't fall over. When is this, and why does it happen?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- I'll Believe Anything, El Cajon

Yikes, Mr. Gullible. How the heck did the conversation get around to balancing eggs? Not that the story doesn't have legs. You hear it every year. For true believers, our annual egg-balancing festival is on March 21, the vernal equinox, when the sun passes over the equator. Bunk science. I was unable to trace the faulty facts back to any specific sources, but undoubtedly they are ancient. This particular theory has led the weak-minded among us to believe that on the vernal equinox, somehow all unseen forces in the universe (particularly the force of gravity) are in some mystical balance, allowing anyone so inclined to stand an egg on its end. By implication, then it should be impossible to balance that same egg on March 20 or March 22. And pins, knitting needles, ice cream cones, dollar bills, small children, all manner of other things should balance on point on March 21.

In the interest of thorough investigation, the steady-handed staff of the Matthew Alice Media Watchdog and Macrame Research Lab stood common uncooked chicken eggs on end on a table top virtually at will on January 15. (It helps if you use eggs that have well centered yolks.) It's easier to stand the eggs on their fat ends, though I've heard it's not impossible to stand them on their pointy ends too. We could only get that one to work on a carpet.

So consider the vernal equinox theory more bad science laid to rest. You should have been suspicious when nothing was said about the autumnal equinox, six months later, when, presumably gravitational forces would again be "in balance." And say, if you believe everything you hear, do you also believe everything you read? It's only a small leap of faith. If so, then consider this fact. If Matthew Alice answers your question in print on January 26, you'll have seven years' bad luck if you don't mail in a large check to show your gratitude.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

National City to junk permissive land-use code

Airbnb regs would be like Chula Vista's
Next Article

Holiday Market At Petco Park, Will Smith’s Dance in the Darkness Tour, Light Shows, Snowfall, Caroling

Events December 12-December 13, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader