As Sure as Eggs is Eggs

Today (September 22) is the day of the Autumnal Equinox. Many of you may have heard the urban legend that you can balance an egg on its end on the equinox and only on the equinox. Those eager to prove it, can try today--either all day or at 6:23 p.m., EDT, the precise moment of the equinox. Good luck.

The "theory," such as it is, has it that "the sun's equidistant position between the poles of the Earth on the equinox causes special gravitational forces that apparently manifest themsleves in egg-balancing." Uh-huh.

There are those who say that the egg balancing trick can only be done on the vernal equinox. Why it should make any difference is beyond me, but since you can't balance an egg on its end on either equinox--or ever--I guess the point is kind of moot.

A common story has it that Christopher Columbus won a bet involving egg-balancing (no doubt the result of a long, boring sea voyage). According to which version of the story you read, he won the bet either by sprinkling salt on the table (on which to prop the egg up) or he cracked the bottom of the egg lightly so it would stand up. The story of Columbus' egg is often used in business and/or computer programming circles to point out that seemingly insoluble problems can often be solved by breaking the rules--if not the eggs.