Can you balance an egg on the equinox?
Thursday, March 20, marks the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, the official start of astronomical spring and a day that is sometimes associated with the unusual tradition of balancing an egg on its end.
According to folklore, you can only balance an egg upright on two days out of the entire year, once on the day of the March equinox and a second time on the September equinox. The belief relies on the gravitational pull of the sun, as on the day of the equinox, appears directly over the planet's equator.
However, the real trick lies in a mixture of patience, concentration and finding a level surface. With the right combination of these three factors, anyone can balance an egg on its end on any day of the year.
(Patricia Marroquin/Getty Images) |
Similar myths have arisen in the age of social media, with people claiming the equinox is the only time you can balance other objects, including the ability to have a broom stand upright unassisted. But similar to an egg, the feat can be accomplished on any day with the right broom and a level floor.
A broom standing by itself. (Westend61/Getty Images) |
One thing that is almost perfectly balanced only on the equinox is the length of day versus the duration of night.
Equinox is derived from the Latin words aequus, meaning "equal" and nox, meaning "night."
At the precise moment of the equinox, which takes place on Thursday at 5:01 a.m. EDT, the sun's most direct rays are pointed at the equator. The result is a day featuring around 12 hours of daylight followed by a night lasting about 12 hours everywhere around the globe.
Following the vernal equinox, the sun's rays become more focused on the Northern Hemisphere, with days growing longer and longer leading up to the June solistice. Meanwhile, nights become longer than days across the Southern Hemisphere as areas south of the equator experience the start of autumn.
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